Two additions on top of v0.7.0:
1. skeletonkey-arm64-static is now published alongside the existing
x86_64-static binary. Built native-arm64 in Alpine via GitHub's
ubuntu-24.04-arm runner pool (free for public repos as of 2024).
install.sh auto-picks it based on 'uname -m'; SKELETONKEY_DYNAMIC=1
fetches the dynamic build instead. Works on Raspberry Pi 4+, Apple
Silicon Linux VMs, AWS Graviton, Oracle Ampere, Hetzner ARM, etc.
.github/workflows/release.yml refactor: the previous single
build-static-x86_64 job becomes a build-static matrix with two
entries (x86_64-static on ubuntu-latest, arm64-static on
ubuntu-24.04-arm). Both share the same Alpine container + build
recipe.
2. .arch_support field on struct skeletonkey_module — honest per-module
labeling of which architectures the exploit() body has been verified
on. Three categories:
'any' (4 modules): pwnkit, sudo_samedit, sudoedit_editor,
pack2theroot. Purely userspace; arch-independent.
'x86_64' (1 module): entrybleed. KPTI prefetchnta side-channel;
x86-only by physics. Already source-gated (returns
PRECOND_FAIL on non-x86_64).
'x86_64+unverified-arm64' (26 modules): kernel exploitation
code. The bug class is generic but the exploit primitives
(msg_msg sprays, finisher chain, struct offsets) haven't been
confirmed on arm64. detect() still works (just reads ctx->host);
only the --exploit path is in question.
--list now has an ARCH column (any / x64 / x64?) and the footer
prints 'N arch-independent (any)'.
--module-info prints 'arch support: <value>'.
--scan --json adds 'arch_support' to each module record.
This is the honest 'arm64 works for detection on every module +
exploitation on 4 of them today; the rest await empirical arm64
sweep' framing — not pretending the kernel exploits already work
there, but not blocking the arm64 binary on that either. arm64
users get the full triage workflow + a handful of userspace exploits
out of the box, plus a clear roadmap for the rest.
Future work to promote modules from 'x86_64+unverified-arm64' to
'any': add an arm64 Vagrant box (generic/debian12-arm64 etc.) to
tools/verify-vm/ and run a verification sweep on Apple Silicon /
ARM Linux hardware.
Adds .opsec_notes to every module's struct skeletonkey_module
(31 entries across 26 module files). One paragraph per exploit
describing the runtime footprint a defender/SOC would see:
- file artifacts created/modified (exact paths from source)
- syscall observables (the unshare / socket / setsockopt /
splice / msgsnd patterns the embedded detection rules look for)
- dmesg signatures (silent on success vs KASAN oops on miss)
- network activity (loopback-only vs none)
- persistence side-effects (/etc/passwd modification, dropped
setuid binaries, backdoors)
- cleanup behaviour (callback present? what it restores?)
Each note is grounded in the module's source code + its existing
auditd/sigma/yara/falco detection rules — the OPSEC notes are
literally the inverse of those rules (the rules describe what to
look for; the notes describe what the exploit triggers).
Three intelligence agents researched the modules in parallel,
reading source + MODULE.md, then their proposals were embedded
verbatim via tools/inject_opsec.py (one-shot script, not retained).
Where surfaced:
- --module-info <name>: '--- opsec notes ---' section between
detect-rules summary and the embedded auditd/sigma rule bodies.
- --module-info / --scan --json: 'opsec_notes' top-level string.
Audience uses:
- Red team: see what footprint each exploit leaves so they pick
chains that match the host's telemetry posture.
- Blue team: the notes mirror the existing detection rules from the
attacker side — easy diff to find gaps in their SIEM coverage.
- Researchers: per-exploit footprint catalog for technique analysis.
copy_fail_family gets one shared note across all 5 register entries
(copy_fail, copy_fail_gcm, dirty_frag_esp, dirty_frag_esp6,
dirty_frag_rxrpc) since they share exploit infrastructure.
Verification:
- macOS local: clean build, --module-info nf_tables shows full
opsec section + CWE + ATT&CK + KEV row from previous commit.
- Linux (docker gcc:latest): 33 + 54 = 87 passes, 0 fails.
Next: --explain mode (uses these notes + the triage metadata to
render a single 'why is this verdict, what would patch fix it, and
what would the SOC see' page per module).
The kpti_enabled bool in struct skeletonkey_host flattens three
distinct sysfs states into one bit:
/sys/devices/system/cpu/vulnerabilities/meltdown content:
- 'Not affected' → CPU is Meltdown-immune; KPTI off; EntryBleed
doesn't apply (verdict: OK)
- 'Mitigation: PTI' → KPTI on (verdict: VULNERABLE)
- 'Vulnerable' → KPTI off but CPU not hardened (rare;
verdict: VULNERABLE conservatively)
- file unreadable → unknown (verdict: VULNERABLE conservatively)
kpti_enabled=true only captures 'Mitigation: PTI'; kpti_enabled=false
collapses 'Not affected', 'Vulnerable', and 'unreadable' into one
indistinguishable case. That meant entrybleed_detect() had to
re-open the sysfs file to recover the raw string.
Fix by also stashing the raw first line in
ctx->host->meltdown_mitigation[64]. kpti_enabled stays for callers
that only need the simple bool; new code that needs the nuance reads
the string. populate happens once at startup, like every other host
field.
entrybleed migration:
- reads ctx->host->meltdown_mitigation instead of opening sysfs
- removes the file-local read_first_line() helper (now dead code)
- same three-way verdict logic, but driven by a const char *
instead of a fresh fopen() each detect()
Test coverage:
- 3 new test rows on x86_64 fingerprints:
empty mitigation → VULNERABLE (conservative)
'Not affected' → OK
'Mitigation: PTI' → VULNERABLE
- 1 stub-path test row on non-x86_64 fingerprints (PRECOND_FAIL)
- registry coverage report: 30/31 modules now have direct tests
(up from 29/31; copy_fail is the only remaining untested module)
Verification:
- macOS: 33 kernel_range + 1 entrybleed-stub = 34 passes, 0 fails
- Linux (docker gcc:latest): 33 kernel_range + 54 detect = 87
passes, 0 fails. Up from 83 last commit.
The README has been claiming "each module credits the original CVE
reporter and PoC author in its NOTICE.md" since v0.1.0, but only
copy_fail_family actually shipped one. Fixed.
modules/<name>/NOTICE.md (×19 new + 1 existing): per-module
research credit covering CVE ID, discoverer, original advisory
URL where public, upstream fix commit, IAMROOT's role.
iamroot.c: new --dump-offsets subcommand. Resolves kernel offsets
via the existing core/offsets.c four-source chain (env →
/proc/kallsyms → /boot/System.map → embedded table), then emits
a ready-to-paste C struct entry for kernel_table[]. Run once
as root on a target kernel build; upstream via PR. Eliminates
fabricating offsets — every shipped entry traces back to a
`iamroot --dump-offsets` invocation on a real kernel.
docs/OFFSETS.md: documents the --dump-offsets workflow.
CVES.md: notes the NOTICE.md convention + offset dump tool.
iamroot.c: bump IAMROOT_VERSION 0.3.0 → 0.3.1.
- modules/entrybleed_cve_2023_0458/ (promoted out of _stubs):
- iamroot_modules.{c,h}: full EntryBleed primitive (rdtsc_start/end
+ prefetchnta + KASLR-slot timing sweep) wired into the standard
iamroot_module interface. x86_64 only; ARM/other gracefully
return IAMROOT_PRECOND_FAIL.
- detect(): reads /sys/.../vulnerabilities/meltdown to decide
KPTI status. Mitigation: PTI → VULNERABLE. Not affected → OK.
- exploit(): sweeps the 16MiB KASLR range, prints leaked kbase
(and KASLR slide). JSON-mode emits {"kbase":"0x..."} to stdout.
- entrybleed_leak_kbase_lib(off) declared as a public library
helper so future LPE chains needing a stage-1 leak can just
#include the module's header and call it.
- entry_SYSCALL_64 slot offset overridable via
IAMROOT_ENTRYBLEED_OFFSET (default 0x5600000 for lts-6.12.x).
- __always_inline fallback added since glibc/Linux-kernel macro
isn't universal; module now builds clean under macOS clangd lint
and on musl.
- iamroot.c registers entrybleed alongside the other families;
Makefile gains it as a separate object set.
Verified end-to-end on kctf-mgr (Debian 6.12.86):
iamroot --exploit entrybleed --i-know
→ [+] entrybleed: leaked kbase = 0xffffffff8d800000
This is the FIRST WORKING-EXPLOIT module in IAMROOT (5
copy_fail_family modules wrap existing code from DIRTYFAIL;
dirty_pipe is detect-only). EntryBleed is x86_64 stage-1 brick
that future chains can compose.
leviathan