Files
SKELETONKEY/CVES.md
T
leviathan 43e290b224 Phase 7: Pwnkit (CVE-2021-4034) detect-only module
First USERSPACE LPE in IAMROOT (every prior module is kernel). Same
iamroot_module interface — the difference is the affected-version
check is package-version-based rather than kernel-version-based.

- modules/pwnkit_cve_2021_4034/:
  - iamroot_modules.{c,h}: detect() locates setuid pkexec (one of
    /usr/bin/pkexec, /usr/sbin/pkexec, /bin/pkexec, /sbin/pkexec,
    /usr/local/bin/pkexec) and parses 'pkexec --version' output.
    Handles BOTH version-string formats: legacy '0.105'/'0.120'
    (older polkit) AND modern bare-integer '121'/'126' (post-0.121
    rename to single-number scheme). Reports VULNERABLE on parse
    failure (conservative).
  - exploit() returns IAMROOT_PRECOND_FAIL with a 'not yet
    implemented' message; full Qualys-PoC follow-up is the next
    commit. ~200 lines including embedded .so generator.
  - MODULE.md documents the bug, affected ranges, distro backport
    landscape (RHEL 7/8, Ubuntu focal/impish, Debian buster/bullseye
    each have their own backported polkit version).
  - Embedded auditd + sigma detection rules:
    auditd: pkexec watch + execve audit
    sigma:  pkexec invocation + suspicious env (GCONV_PATH, CHARSET)

- core/registry.h adds iamroot_register_pwnkit() declaration.
- iamroot.c main() registers pwnkit.
- Makefile gains the pwnkit family as a separate object set.

Verified end-to-end on kctf-mgr (modern polkit 126):
  iamroot --list  → 8 modules
  iamroot --scan  → pwnkit reports 'version 126 ≥ 0.121 (fixed)'
  iamroot --detect-rules --format=auditd | grep pwnkit → emits
2026-05-16 20:07:40 -04:00

5.4 KiB

CVE inventory

The curated list of CVEs IAMROOT exploits, with patch status and module status. Updated as new modules land or as upstream patches ship.

Status legend:

  • 🟢 WORKING — module verified to land root on a vulnerable host
  • 🟡 PARTIAL — module detects + exploits on some distros, not all
  • 🔵 DETECT-ONLY — module fingerprints presence/absence but no exploit (yet). Useful for blue teams.
  • PLANNED — stub exists, work not started
  • 🔴 DEPRECATED — fully patched everywhere relevant; kept for historical reference only

Inventory

CVE Name Class First patched IAMROOT module Status Notes
CVE-2026-31431 Copy Fail (algif_aead authencesn page-cache write) LPE (page-cache write → /etc/passwd) mainline 2026-04-22 copy_fail 🟢 Verified on Ubuntu 26.04, Alma 9, Debian 13. Full AppArmor bypass.
CVE-2026-43284 (v4) Dirty Frag — IPv4 xfrm-ESP page-cache write LPE (same primitive shape as Copy Fail, different trigger) mainline 2026-05-XX dirty_frag_esp 🟢 Full PoC + active-probe scan
CVE-2026-43284 (v6) Dirty Frag — IPv6 xfrm-ESP (esp6) LPE mainline 2026-05-XX dirty_frag_esp6 🟢 V6 STORE shift auto-calibrated per kernel build
CVE-2026-43500 Dirty Frag — RxRPC page-cache write LPE mainline 2026-05-XX dirty_frag_rxrpc 🟢
(variant, no CVE) Copy Fail GCM variant — xfrm-ESP rfc4106(gcm(aes)) page-cache write LPE n/a copy_fail_gcm 🟢 Sibling primitive, same fix
CVE-2022-0847 Dirty Pipe — pipe PIPE_BUF_FLAG_CAN_MERGE write LPE (arbitrary file write into page cache) mainline 5.17 (2022-02-23) dirty_pipe 🟢 Full detect + exploit + cleanup. Detect: branch-backport ranges (5.10.102 / 5.15.25 / 5.16.11 / 5.17+). Exploit: page-cache write into /etc/passwd UID field followed by su to drop a root shell. Auto-refuses on patched kernels. Cleanup: drop_caches + POSIX_FADV_DONTNEED. CI-validation against a vulnerable kernel (e.g. Ubuntu 20.04 with stock 5.13) is Phase 4 work.
CVE-2023-0458 EntryBleed — KPTI prefetchnta KASLR bypass INFO-LEAK (kbase) mainline (partial mitigations only) entrybleed 🟢 Stage-1 leak brick. Working on lts-6.12.86 (verified 2026-05-16 via iamroot --exploit entrybleed --i-know). Default entry_SYSCALL_64 slot offset matches lts-6.12.x; override via IAMROOT_ENTRYBLEED_OFFSET=0x.... Other modules can call entrybleed_leak_kbase_lib() as a library. x86_64 only.
CVE-2026-31402 NFS replay-cache heap overflow LPE (NFS server) mainline 2026-04-03 Candidate. Different audience (NFS servers) — TBD whether in-scope.
CVE-2021-4034 Pwnkit — pkexec argv[0]=NULL → env-injection LPE (userspace setuid binary) polkit 0.121 (2022-01-25) pwnkit 🔵 Detect-only as of 2026-05-16. Locates setuid pkexec, parses pkexec --version, compares against 0.121 threshold. First userspace LPE in IAMROOT (rest is kernel). Full Qualys-PoC exploit follows in Phase 7 follow-up. Ships auditd + sigma rules.
CVE-TBD Fragnesia (ESP shared-frag in-place encrypt) LPE (page-cache write) mainline TBD _stubs/fragnesia_TBD Stub. Per findings/audit_leak_write_modprobe_backups_2026-05-16.md, requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in userns netns — may or may not be in-scope depending on target environment.

Operations supported per module

Symbols: ✓ = supported, — = not applicable / no automated path.

Module --scan (detect) --exploit --mitigate --cleanup --detect-rules
copy_fail ✓ (blacklist algif_aead + AA sysctl) ✓ (revert mit or evict page cache) ✓ (auditd + sigma)
copy_fail_gcm ✓ (same family-wide)
dirty_frag_esp ✓ (same family-wide)
dirty_frag_esp6 ✓ (same family-wide)
dirty_frag_rxrpc ✓ (same family-wide)
dirty_pipe — (only fix is upgrade kernel) ✓ (evict page cache) ✓ (auditd + sigma)
entrybleed ✓ (leak kbase) — (no canonical patch) ✓ (sigma informational)

Pipeline for additions

  1. Bug must be patched in upstream mainline (we don't bundle 0-days)
  2. Either CVE-assigned or has clear advisory/patch reference
  3. Affects a kernel version range with realistic deployment footprint (we don't bundle exploits for kernels nobody runs)
  4. PoC works on at least one distro+kernel in our CI matrix
  5. Detection signature(s) shipped alongside the exploit

Patch-status tracking

Each module's kernel-range.json (planned) declares the affected range. CI verifies the exploit fails on the first-patched version and succeeds below it. When a distro backports the fix into a kernel version below the original first-patched, the matrix updates and the relevant distro drops out of the "WORKING" list for that module.

Why we exclude some things

  • 0-days the maintainer found themselves: those go through responsible disclosure first, then enter IAMROOT after upstream patch
  • kCTF VRP submissions in flight: same as above; disclosure before bundling
  • Hardware-specific side channels (Spectre/Meltdown variants): out of scope; not page-cache or process-isolation primitives
  • Container-escape only: unless it cleanly chains to host-root, out of scope (separate tool space)