Impact
The flaw lies in the cryptographic helper module ALGIF_AEAD which previously performed an in‑place copy of authentication data. Because the source and destination buffers originate from different memory mappings, the in‑place implementation could race and corrupt kernel memory. This flaw enables a local attacker to overwrite protected kernel structures used by crypto operations, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. The vulnerability corresponds to CWE‑1288, indicating a race condition, and CWE‑669, indicating incorrect handling of authentication data.
Affected Systems
Linux kernels older than the revert commit – this includes mainstream distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL, SUSE, and other custom builds that use kernel 5.x, 6.x, or 7.x before the patch. Any system still running a kernel that compiles the pre‑revert in‑place algif_aead implementation remains vulnerable.
Risk and Exploitability
The CVSS base score of 7.8 denotes high severity. An EPSS score of 97 % indicates a very high potential for exploitation. The vulnerability is listed in CISA’s KEV catalog, confirming that it has been targeted in the wild. Given these metrics, the flaw should be treated as a top‑priority security issue.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Debian DLA
Debian DSA
Ubuntu USN