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Fencer Vulns
medium 5.5

CVE-2009-3238 json

The get_random_int function in drivers/char/random.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.30 produces insufficiently random numbers, which allows…

published 2009-09-18 17 y ago modified 2026-06-16 4 mo ago also EUVD-2009-3221

cvss
5.5
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
1.6%
EPSS 1.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 76%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

The get_random_int function in drivers/char/random.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.30 produces insufficiently random numbers, which allows attackers to predict the return value, and possibly defeat protection mechanisms based on randomization, via vectors that leverage the function's tendency to "return the same value over and over again for long stretches of time."

Patch / fix

  • linux linux_kernel 2.6.30
  • kernel RHEL 4 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
  • kernel-smp RHEL 4 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
  • kernel-xenU RHEL 4 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
  • kernel-hugemem RHEL 4 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
  • kernel-largesmp RHEL 4 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
  • kernel RHEL 5 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5
  • kernel-PAE RHEL 5 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5
  • kernel-xen RHEL 5 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5

red hat advisories RHSA-2009:1438RHSA-2009:1106RHSA-2009:1081

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2009-3238 updated cvss 7.8

kernel: random: add robust get_random_u32, remove weak get_random_int

  • Red Hat MRG Realtime for RHEL 5 Server kernel-rt 2.6.24.7-117.el5rt, kernel-rt-trace 2.6.24.7-117.el5rt, kernel-rt-vanilla 2.6.24.7-117.el5rt, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common 2.6.24.7-117.el5rt
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1081
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v. 5 server) kernel 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-PAE 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-xen 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-kdump 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-debuginfo-common 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1106
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS version 4 kernel 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-smp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-xenU 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-hugemem 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-largesmp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1438
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 5 client) kernel 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-PAE 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-xen 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-kdump 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5, kernel-debuginfo-common 2.6.18-128.1.14.el5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1106
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop version 4 kernel 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-smp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-xenU 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-hugemem 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-largesmp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES version 4 kernel 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-smp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-xenU 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-hugemem 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-largesmp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS version 4 kernel 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-smp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-xenU 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-hugemem 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL, kernel-largesmp 2.6.9-89.0.11.EL
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2009:1438

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

1.63% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 76% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • kernel.org http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.30 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.1 5.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD 2.0 7.8 AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-338 Use of Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG)
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.