rename: IAMROOT → SKELETONKEY across the entire project
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Breaking change. Tool name, binary name, function/type names,
constant names, env vars, header guards, file paths, and GitHub
repo URL all rebrand IAMROOT → SKELETONKEY.

Changes:
  - All "IAMROOT" → "SKELETONKEY" (constants, env vars, enum
    values, docs, comments)
  - All "iamroot" → "skeletonkey" (functions, types, paths, CLI)
  - iamroot.c → skeletonkey.c
  - modules/*/iamroot_modules.{c,h} → modules/*/skeletonkey_modules.{c,h}
  - tools/iamroot-fleet-scan.sh → tools/skeletonkey-fleet-scan.sh
  - Binary "iamroot" → "skeletonkey"
  - GitHub URL KaraZajac/IAMROOT → KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY
  - .gitignore now expects build output named "skeletonkey"
  - /tmp/iamroot-* tmpfiles → /tmp/skeletonkey-*
  - Env vars IAMROOT_MODPROBE_PATH etc. → SKELETONKEY_*

New ASCII skeleton-key banner (horizontal key icon + ANSI Shadow
SKELETONKEY block letters) replaces the IAMROOT banner in
skeletonkey.c and README.md.

VERSION: 0.3.1 → 0.4.0 (breaking).

Build clean on Debian 6.12.86. `skeletonkey --version` → 0.4.0.
All 24 modules still register; no functional code changes — pure
rename + banner refresh.
This commit is contained in:
2026-05-16 22:43:49 -04:00
parent 9d88b475c1
commit 9593d90385
109 changed files with 1711 additions and 1701 deletions
+35 -30
View File
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
# IAMROOT
# SKELETONKEY
> A curated, actively-maintained corpus of Linux kernel LPE exploits —
> bundled with their detection signatures, patch status, and version
@@ -7,15 +7,20 @@
> vulnerable to, and — with explicit confirmation — gets you root.
```
██╗ █████╗ ███╗ ███╗██████╗ ██████╗ ██████╗ ████████
██║██╔══██╗████╗ ████║██╔══██╗██╔═══██╗██╔═══██╗╚══██╔══╝
██║███████║██╔████╔██║██████╔╝██║ ██║██║ ██║ ██║
██║██╔══██║██║╚██╔╝██║██╔══██╗██║ ██║██║ ██║ ██║
██║██║ ██║██║ ╚═╝ ██║██║ ██║╚██████╔╝╚██████╔╝ ██║
╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚═╝ ╚═╝ ╚═════╝ ╚═════╝ ╚═╝
╔══╤══
║ ● ║═══════════════════════════════════════════════════--,
╚═════╝ `--,_
`_/
███████╗██╗ ██╗███████╗██╗ ███████╗████████╗ ██████╗ ███╗ ██╗██╗ ██╗███████╗██╗ ██╗
██╔════╝██║ ██╔╝██╔════╝██║ ██╔════╝╚══██╔══╝██╔═══██╗████╗ ██║██║ ██╔╝██╔════╝╚██╗ ██╔╝
███████╗█████╔╝ █████╗ ██║ █████╗ ██║ ██║ ██║██╔██╗ ██║█████╔╝ █████╗ ╚████╔╝
╚════██║██╔═██╗ ██╔══╝ ██║ ██╔══╝ ██║ ██║ ██║██║╚██╗██║██╔═██╗ ██╔══╝ ╚██╔╝
███████║██║ ██╗███████╗███████╗███████╗ ██║ ╚██████╔╝██║ ╚████║██║ ██╗███████╗ ██║
╚══════╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚══════╝╚══════╝╚══════╝ ╚═╝ ╚═════╝ ╚═╝ ╚═══╝╚═╝ ╚═╝╚══════╝ ╚═╝
```
> ⚠️ **Authorized testing only.** IAMROOT is a research and red-team
> ⚠️ **Authorized testing only.** SKELETONKEY is a research and red-team
> tool. By using it you assert you have explicit authorization to test
> the target system. See [`docs/ETHICS.md`](docs/ETHICS.md).
@@ -23,29 +28,29 @@
```bash
# One-shot install (x86_64 / arm64; checksum-verified)
curl -sSL https://github.com/KaraZajac/IAMROOT/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
curl -sSL https://github.com/KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY/releases/latest/download/install.sh | sh
```
**iamroot runs as a normal unprivileged user** — that's the whole
**skeletonkey runs as a normal unprivileged user** — that's the whole
point. `--scan`, `--audit`, `--exploit`, and `--detect-rules` all
work without `sudo`. Only `--mitigate` and rule-file installation
write to root-owned paths.
```bash
# What's this box vulnerable to? (no sudo)
iamroot --scan
skeletonkey --scan
# Broader system hygiene (setuid binaries, world-writable, capabilities, sudo)
iamroot --audit
skeletonkey --audit
# Deploy detection rules (needs sudo to write /etc/audit/rules.d/)
iamroot --detect-rules --format=auditd | sudo tee /etc/audit/rules.d/99-iamroot.rules
skeletonkey --detect-rules --format=auditd | sudo tee /etc/audit/rules.d/99-skeletonkey.rules
# Apply temporary mitigations (needs sudo for modprobe.d + sysctl)
sudo iamroot --mitigate copy_fail
sudo skeletonkey --mitigate copy_fail
# Fleet scan (any-sized host list via SSH; aggregated JSON for SIEM)
./tools/iamroot-fleet-scan.sh --binary iamroot --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa hosts.txt
./tools/skeletonkey-fleet-scan.sh --binary skeletonkey --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_rsa hosts.txt
```
### Example: unprivileged → root
@@ -54,14 +59,14 @@ sudo iamroot --mitigate copy_fail
$ id
uid=1000(kara) gid=1000(kara) groups=1000(kara)
$ iamroot --scan
$ skeletonkey --scan
[+] dirty_pipe VULNERABLE (kernel 5.15.0-56-generic)
[+] cgroup_release_agent VULNERABLE (kernel 5.15 < 5.17)
[+] pwnkit VULNERABLE (polkit 0.105-31ubuntu0.1)
[-] copy_fail not vulnerable (kernel 5.15 < introduction)
[-] dirty_cow not vulnerable (kernel ≥ 4.9)
$ iamroot --exploit dirty_pipe --i-know
$ skeletonkey --exploit dirty_pipe --i-know
[!] dirty_pipe: kernel 5.15.0-56-generic IS vulnerable
[+] dirty_pipe: writing UID=0 into /etc/passwd page cache...
[+] dirty_pipe: spawning su root
@@ -69,27 +74,27 @@ $ iamroot --exploit dirty_pipe --i-know
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)
```
`iamroot --help` lists every command. See [`CVES.md`](CVES.md) for
`skeletonkey --help` lists every command. See [`CVES.md`](CVES.md) for
the curated CVE inventory and [`docs/DEFENDERS.md`](docs/DEFENDERS.md)
for the blue-team deployment guide.
## What this is
Most Linux LPE references are dead repos, broken PoCs, or single-CVE
deep-dives. **IAMROOT is a living corpus**: each CVE that lands here
deep-dives. **SKELETONKEY is a living corpus**: each CVE that lands here
is empirically verified to work on the kernels it claims to target,
CI-tested across a distro matrix, and ships with the detection
signatures defenders need to spot it in their environment.
The same binary covers offense and defense:
- `iamroot --scan` — fingerprint the host, report which bundled CVEs
- `skeletonkey --scan` — fingerprint the host, report which bundled CVEs
apply, and which are blocked by patches/config/LSM
- `iamroot --exploit <CVE>` — run the named exploit (with `--i-know`
- `skeletonkey --exploit <CVE>` — run the named exploit (with `--i-know`
authorization gate)
- `iamroot --detect-rules` — dump auditd / sigma / yara rules for
- `skeletonkey --detect-rules` — dump auditd / sigma / yara rules for
every bundled CVE so blue teams can drop them into their tooling
- `iamroot --mitigate` — apply temporary mitigations for CVEs the
- `skeletonkey --mitigate` — apply temporary mitigations for CVEs the
host is vulnerable to (sysctl knobs, module blacklists, etc.)
## Status
@@ -110,7 +115,7 @@ across the 2016 → 2026 LPE timeline:
fuse_legacy, nf_tables, netfilter_xtcompat, nft_fwd_dup,
nft_payload, nft_set_uaf, stackrot.
- Detection rules ship inline (auditd / sigma / yara / falco) and
are exported via `iamroot --detect-rules --format=…`.
are exported via `skeletonkey --detect-rules --format=…`.
See [`CVES.md`](CVES.md) for the per-CVE inventory + patch status.
See [`ROADMAP.md`](ROADMAP.md) for the next planned modules.
@@ -126,7 +131,7 @@ The Linux kernel privilege-escalation space is fragmented:
- **Per-CVE single-PoC repos**: usually one author, often abandoned
within months of release, often only one distro
IAMROOT's bet is that there's room for a single curated bundle that
SKELETONKEY's bet is that there's room for a single curated bundle that
(1) actively maintains a small set of high-quality exploits across a
multi-distro matrix, and (2) ships detection rules alongside each
exploit so the same project serves both red and blue teams.
@@ -148,16 +153,16 @@ module-loader design and how to add a new CVE.
```bash
make # build all modules
./iamroot --scan # what's this box vulnerable to? (no sudo)
./iamroot --scan --json # machine-readable output for CI/SOC pipelines
./iamroot --detect-rules --format=sigma > rules.yml
./iamroot --exploit copy_fail --i-know # actually run an exploit (starts as $USER)
./skeletonkey --scan # what's this box vulnerable to? (no sudo)
./skeletonkey --scan --json # machine-readable output for CI/SOC pipelines
./skeletonkey --detect-rules --format=sigma > rules.yml
./skeletonkey --exploit copy_fail --i-know # actually run an exploit (starts as $USER)
```
## Acknowledgments
Each module credits the original CVE reporter and PoC author in its
`NOTICE.md`. IAMROOT is the bundling and bookkeeping layer; the
`NOTICE.md`. SKELETONKEY is the bundling and bookkeeping layer; the
research credit belongs to the people who found the bugs.
## License