Tag

Linux Kernel

All articles tagged with #linux kernel

CISA Mandates Urgent Patching for Three Actively Exploited Linux Kernel Flaws
cybersecurity16 days ago

CISA Mandates Urgent Patching for Three Actively Exploited Linux Kernel Flaws

CISA has added three Linux kernel vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, ordering federal agencies to patch them by September 23, 2026. The flaws, ranging from medium to critical severity, are being actively exploited in the wild. While CISA has not disclosed details about the threat actors, Red Hat and other vendors have confirmed public exploits exist for two of the issues. The most critical flaw, CVE-2025-39964, has existed in the kernel for 14 years and allows for privilege escalation and container escape.

OpenAI incident exposes patched Linux IPv6 flaw and urgent patch steps
security1 month ago

OpenAI incident exposes patched Linux IPv6 flaw and urgent patch steps

A patched Linux kernel vulnerability, CVE-2026-53362 (IPv6 Frag Gap), played a role in OpenAI’s Hugging Face incident, showing how a local foothold can escalate to root via an IPv6 UDP path; patches exist in recent kernels but many systems remain unpatched. Security guidance: apply vendor kernel updates, reboot to load the new kernel, prioritize patching for high-risk workloads, verify container-host boundaries, and consider temporary mitigations (e.g., disabling IPv6) if needed. Monitor for signs of compromise and expect more AI-enabled exploits as attackers leverage kernel bugs to gain control.

Ancient Linux SCTP bug lets local attackers gain root and escape containers
security2 months ago

Ancient Linux SCTP bug lets local attackers gain root and escape containers

A long-standing use-after-free in Linux SCTP (CVE-2026-64564, nicknamed SCTPhantom) can allow a local user to gain root on a host and escape containers when SCTP is reachable; patches landed in stable kernels 7.1.6, 6.18.42, 6.12.101, and 6.6.148 as of August 3. Tencent Zhuque Lab demonstrated root on multiple distros, though no widespread public exploit has surfaced. Mitigate by upgrading to the patched kernels or blocking the SCTP module if not needed. The issue traces back to 2008 and affects many releases, with a related use-after-free fixed in the same patch; check your distro's tracker for coverage.

technology2 months ago

Per-Core EPP Boost in AMD P-State Could Lift Steam Deck FPS

A patch series to the AMD P-State Linux driver adds an opt-in per-core Energy Performance Preference (EPP) boost that selectively raises busy cores to a performance state for short bursts. In tests on the Steam Deck running Civilization VI, 1%-low FPS improved by about 31.8% and p99 frame times also improved, though the patches require review before mainline and require enabling the epp_boost parameter to activate. This could boost Linux gaming on handhelds, but broader testing and kernel acceptance are still pending.

Linux XFS reflink flaw could grant root via race condition
security2 months ago

Linux XFS reflink flaw could grant root via race condition

Qualys warns of RefluXFS, a nine-year-old race-condition in the XFS reflink feature (CVE-2026-64600) that enables local unprivileged users to overwrite blocks backing protected files and gain root on Linux kernels 4.11+. The attack clones a target file to a scratch file and races concurrent writes in the copy-on-write path, causing disk-block modifications that survive reboot and produce no kernel logs. Affected distros include RHEL, Oracle Linux, Amazon Linux, Fedora, CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and CloudLinux, potentially impacting millions. Kernel patches are available and backported; reboot to verify. There are currently no reliable mitigations beyond patching.

Torvalds backs AI-powered coding in Linux, inviting critics to fork or walk away
technology2 months ago

Torvalds backs AI-powered coding in Linux, inviting critics to fork or walk away

Linus Torvalds says Linux is not anti-AI and supports using AI coding tools to improve the Linux kernel, arguing the tech’s merit over fear; he tells detractors they can fork the project or walk away, framing the stance as pragmatic rather than ideological, with the Sashiko AI-assisted code-review system cited in the broader AI-in-open-source debate.

Bad Epoll: Tiny Timing Window Lets Unprivileged Users Root Linux and Android
technology3 months ago

Bad Epoll: Tiny Timing Window Lets Unprivileged Users Root Linux and Android

A newly disclosed Linux kernel vulnerability, Bad Epoll (CVE-2026-46242), is a use-after-free race in the epoll subsystem that can let a non-privileged user gain root on Linux desktops, servers, and Android. The attacker exploits a six-instruction timing window to corrupt kernel memory, with broader reach via Chrome’s sandbox and Android support; a upstream patch is available (a6dc643c6931) and backports are expected for 6.4+ kernels, while older 6.1-based Android devices may be unaffected. A public PoC exists, but there’s no evidence of widespread exploitation yet.

technology3 months ago

Linux 7.2 Kernel Clocks In Over 43 Million Lines of Code

The Linux 7.2 merge window is closing with the kernel source tree surpassing 43.9 million lines of code (43,898,743 total) across 108,158 files, including about 33.65 million code lines, 5.03 million comments, and 5.21 million blank lines. AMDGPU/AMDKFD remains the largest driver at roughly 6.36 million lines. 7.1 stood at ~42.92 million. RC1 is expected later today as the 7.2 release unfolds.

Linux kernel pedit COW flaw lets local users gain root by poisoning in-memory binaries
technology3 months ago

Linux kernel pedit COW flaw lets local users gain root by poisoning in-memory binaries

A Linux kernel flaw in the traffic-control pedit action (CVE-2026-46331, 'pedit COW') lets a local unprivileged user corrupt the in-memory page cache and inject a root payload into a cached setuid binary, yielding root access without touching disk. The exploit requires unprivileged user namespaces with CAP_NET_ADMIN and has been demonstrated on RHEL 10 and Debian 13; Ubuntu variants show mixed susceptibility due to AppArmor defaults. Patches have been released by vendors; recommended actions are patching and rebooting, or mitigating by disabling the act_pedit module or turning off unprivileged user namespaces. Because the overwrite hits memory, file-integrity scans may miss it, and a compromised host should be treated as such.

PoC Unleashes PinTheft Linux LPE, Unlocks Root Access
cybersecurity4 months ago

PoC Unleashes PinTheft Linux LPE, Unlocks Root Access

A proof-of-concept exploit named PinTheft has been published for a Linux kernel local privilege escalation, leveraging an RDS zerocopy double-free flaw to gain root access under specific kernel configurations. The PoC demonstrates a novel way to steal references via io_uring and overwrite in-memory pages, underscoring ongoing Linux kernel security challenges. Admins should apply latest patches or blacklist vulnerable modules to mitigate risk.

Torvalds: AI is a powerful tool, not a replacement for programmers
technology4 months ago

Torvalds: AI is a powerful tool, not a replacement for programmers

Linus Torvalds says AI tools are reshaping Linux development by increasing commits and lowering entry barriers, but they also create social and security strains in open source. He introduced AI security disclosure guidelines, argued that AI won’t replace human programmers, and stressed that open source remains essential to managing complexity. The discussion also highlights burnout risks for maintainers due to flood-like AI bug reports and the need to understand the end result of AI-generated code, not just prompts.

Nine-Year-Old Linux Kernel Bug Lets Local Users Root on Major Distros
security4 months ago

Nine-Year-Old Linux Kernel Bug Lets Local Users Root on Major Distros

Qualys disclosed CVE-2026-46333, a nine-year-old Linux kernel privilege-escalation flaw in __ptrace_may_access() that can let an unprivileged local user read /etc/shadow, access SSH private keys, and execute commands as root on Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu; a PoC is available, patches have been released, and mitigations include updating the kernel or setting kernel.yama.ptrace_scope=2 and rotating host keys.

Public PoC Reveals Local Root Exploit for DirtyDecrypt Linux Kernel
cyber-security-news4 months ago

Public PoC Reveals Local Root Exploit for DirtyDecrypt Linux Kernel

A public proof‑of‑concept exploit for the DirtyDecrypt (DirtyCBC) Linux kernel local privilege escalation (CVE-2026-31635) has been released. It exploits a missing copy-on-write guard in rxgk_decrypt_skb() within the RxGK subsystem, enabling a local unprivileged user to overwrite privileged memory (including /etc/shadow, sudoers, and SUID binaries) and gain root. The upstream patch was merged on April 25, 2026, and affected kernels require RXGK to be enabled (CONFIG_RXGK=y/m). Rolling‑release distributions with unpatched kernels (e.g., Fedora Rawhide, Arch before patch, openSUSE Tumbleweed) are at risk, while distros that ship RXGK disabled (e.g., some Debian/RHEL/Ubuntu builds) are less affected. In containers and Kubernetes environments, the flaw can lead to container escapes and host compromise. Mitigations include upgrading the kernel package and rebooting; as a temporary workaround, blacklisting rxrpc, esp4, and esp6 can be used at the expense of IPsec/AFS functionality. Kubernetes operators should rebuild worker images with patched kernels and enforce strict pod security settings.