---
id: CVE-2020-10781
title: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux Kernel before 5.8-rc6 in the ZRAM kernel module,
  where a user with a local account and the ability to read the
  /sys/class/zram-control/hot_add file can create ZRAM device nodes in the /dev/
  directory
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux Kernel before 5.8-rc6 in the ZRAM kernel module,
  where a user with a local account and the ability to read the
  /sys/class/zram-control/hot_add file can create ZRAM device nodes in the /dev/
  directory. This r…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-732
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - linux_kernel < 5.8.0
  - linux_kernel = 5.8.0
  - debian_linux = 9.0
patched:
  - linux_kernel 5.8.0
published: '2020-09-16'
updated: '2026-10-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-08T21:17:20.720'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10781'
references:
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10781'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=853eab68afc80f59f36bbdeb715e5c88c501e680
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00025.html'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/18/1'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-10781'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=853eab68afc80f59f36bbdeb715e5c88c501e680
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00025.html'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/06/18/1'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2020/cve-2020-10781.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-10781'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1847832'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10781'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10781'
tags:
  - nvd
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00311
epssPercentile: 0.2201
ingestedAt: '2026-10-08T22:11:53.720Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux Kernel before 5.8-rc6 in the ZRAM kernel module, where a user with a local account and the ability to read the /sys/class/zram-control/hot_add file can create ZRAM device nodes in the /dev/ directory. This read allocates kernel memory and is not accounted for a user that triggers the creation of that ZRAM device. With this vulnerability, continually reading the device may consume a large amount of system memory and cause the Out-of-Memory (OOM) killer to activate and terminate random userspace processes, possibly making the system inoperable.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel < 5.8.0`
- `linux_kernel = 5.8.0`
- `debian_linux = 9.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 5.8.0`

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise MRG 2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, … · updated 2026-10-08 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2020/cve-2020-10781.json)