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CVE Record

CVE-2011-2480: Information Disclosure vulnerability in the 802.11 stack, as used in FreeBSD before 8.2 and NetBSD when usi...

Information Disclosure vulnerability in the 802.11 stack, as used in FreeBSD before 8.2 and NetBSD when using certain non-x86 architectures. A signedness error in the IEEE80211_IOC_CHANINFO ioctl allows a local unprivileged user to cause the kernel to copy large amounts of kernel memory back to the user, disclosing potentially sensitive information.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a local information disclosure issue in old BSD 802.11 wireless networking code. A regular local user could cause the kernel to return excessive kernel memory, potentially exposing sensitive data. The record does not show active exploitation or a CVSS score.

Executive priority

Treat this as a legacy-platform risk. It is not shown as actively exploited, but local kernel memory disclosure can expose sensitive data on shared or multi-user systems. Remediate through upgrade or retirement planning.

Technical view

CVE-2011-2480 describes a signedness error in the IEEE80211_IOC_CHANINFO ioctl. In FreeBSD before 8.2, and NetBSD on certain non-x86 architectures, an unprivileged local user may trigger excessive kernel memory copying back to user space.

Likely exposure

Exposure is mainly legacy FreeBSD systems before 8.2 and NetBSD systems on certain non-x86 architectures using the affected 802.11 stack. Internet-facing exposure is not indicated; local user access is required.

Exploitation context

The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no cited evidence of active exploitation. The issue is local: an attacker needs access to an affected host as an unprivileged user.

Researcher notes

Key evidence is the signedness issue in IEEE80211_IOC_CHANINFO and kernel memory disclosure behavior. The record lacks CVSS, CWE, exact NetBSD versions, and exploit-status detail, so affected-system validation should stay source-bounded.

Mitigation direction

  • Move FreeBSD systems off releases before 8.2.
  • Check NetBSD vendor guidance for affected non-x86 builds.
  • Restrict unnecessary local accounts on legacy BSD hosts.
  • Prioritize replacement of unsupported wireless-capable BSD systems.
  • Track vendor security advisories for confirmed fixes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory FreeBSD hosts and confirm versions are 8.2 or later.
  • Identify NetBSD non-x86 systems using 802.11 networking.
  • Review whether unprivileged local users can access affected hosts.
  • Check vendor or distribution trackers for patch status.
  • Document unsupported systems requiring compensating controls.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2011-2480 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
FreeBSD, NetBSDFreeBSDbefore 8.2Listed
FreeBSD, NetBSDNetBSDn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.