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SKELETONKEY/CVES.md
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v0.3.1: --dump-offsets tool + NOTICE.md per module
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.
2026-05-16 22:33:43 -04:00

16 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
  • 🟡 PRIMITIVE — fires the kernel primitive (trigger + slab groom
    • empirical witness) on a vulnerable host. By default returns EXPLOIT_FAIL honestly (no fabricated offsets). Pass --full-chain to additionally attempt root pop via the shared modprobe_path finisher (core/finisher.{c,h}) — requires kernel offsets via env vars / /proc/kallsyms / /boot/System.map; see docs/OFFSETS.md. On success returns EXPLOIT_OK and drops a root shell; on failure returns EXPLOIT_FAIL — never claims root without an empirical setuid-bash sentinel.
  • 🔵 DETECT-ONLY — module fingerprints presence/absence but no exploit. (No module is currently in this state.)
  • PLANNED — stub exists, work not started
  • 🔴 DEPRECATED — fully patched everywhere relevant; kept for historical reference only

Counts (v0.3.1): 🟢 13 · 🟡 11 (all --full-chain capable) · 🔵 0 · 1 · 🔴 0

Every module ships a NOTICE.md crediting the original CVE reporter and PoC author. iamroot --dump-offsets populates the embedded offset table for new kernel builds — operators with root on a host can upstream their kernel's offsets via PR.

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 + active sentinel probe (--active fires the primitive against a /tmp probe file and verifies the page cache poisoning lands — catches silent distro backports the version check misses). 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.
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 🟢 Full detect + exploit (canonical Qualys-style: gconv-modules + execve NULL-argv). Detect handles both polkit version formats (legacy "0.105" + modern "126"). Exploit compiles payload via target's gcc → falls back gracefully if no cc available. Cleanup nukes /tmp/iamroot-pwnkit-* workdirs. First userspace LPE in IAMROOT. Ships auditd + sigma rules.
CVE-2024-1086 nf_tables — nft_verdict_init cross-cache UAF LPE (kernel arbitrary R/W via slab UAF) mainline 6.8-rc1 (Jan 2024) nf_tables 🟡 Hand-rolled nfnetlink batch builder (no libmnl dep) constructs the NFT_GOTO+NFT_DROP malformed verdict in a pipapo set, fires the double-free, sprays msg_msg in kmalloc-cg-96 and snapshots slabinfo. Stops before the Notselwyn pipapo R/W dance (per-kernel offsets refused). Branch-backport thresholds: 6.7.2 / 6.6.13 / 6.1.74 / 5.15.149 / 5.10.210 / 5.4.269. Also gates on unprivileged user_ns clone availability.
CVE-2021-3493 Ubuntu overlayfs userns file-capability injection LPE (host root via file caps in userns-mounted overlayfs) Ubuntu USN-4915-1 (Apr 2021) overlayfs 🟢 Full vsh-style exploit (userns+overlayfs mount + xattr file-cap injection + exec). Ubuntu-specific (vanilla upstream didn't enable userns-overlayfs-mount until 5.11). Detect parses /etc/os-release for ID=ubuntu, checks unprivileged_userns_clone sysctl, and with --active attempts the mount as a fork-isolated probe. Ships auditd rules covering mount(overlay) + setxattr(security.capability).
CVE-2022-2588 net/sched cls_route4 handle-zero dead UAF LPE (kernel UAF in cls_route4 filter remove) mainline 5.20 / 5.19.7 (Aug 2022) cls_route4 🟡 Userns+netns reach, tc/ip dummy interface + route4 dangling-filter add/del, msg_msg kmalloc-1k spray, UDP classify drive to follow the dangling pointer, slabinfo delta witness. Stops at empirical UAF-fired signal; no leak→cred overwrite (per-kernel offsets refused). Branch backports: 5.4.213 / 5.10.143 / 5.15.69 / 5.18.18 / 5.19.7.
CVE-2016-5195 Dirty COW — COW race via /proc/self/mem + madvise LPE (page-cache write into root-owned files) mainline 4.9 (Oct 2016) dirty_cow 🟢 Full detect + exploit + cleanup. Old-systems coverage — affects RHEL 6/7 (3.10 baseline), Ubuntu 14.04 (3.13), Ubuntu 16.04 (4.4), embedded boxes, IoT. Phil-Oester-style two-thread race: writer thread via /proc/self/mem vs madvise(MADV_DONTNEED) thread. Targets /etc/passwd UID flip + su. Ships auditd watch on /proc/self/mem + sigma rule for non-root mem-open. Pthread-linked.
CVE-2019-13272 PTRACE_TRACEME → setuid execve → cred escalation LPE (kernel ptrace race; no exotic preconditions) mainline 5.1.17 (Jun 2019) ptrace_traceme 🟢 Full detect + exploit. Branch backports: 4.4.182 / 4.9.182 / 4.14.131 / 4.19.58 / 5.0.20 / 5.1.17. jannh-style: fork → child PTRACE_TRACEME → child sleep+attach → parent execve setuid bin (pkexec/su/passwd auto-selected) → child wins stale-ptrace_link → POKETEXT x86_64 shellcode → root sh. x86_64-only; ARM/other return PRECOND_FAIL cleanly.
CVE-2022-0492 cgroup v1 release_agent privilege check in wrong namespace LPE (host root from rootless container or unprivileged userns) mainline 5.17 (Mar 2022) cgroup_release_agent 🟢 Universal structural exploit — no per-kernel offsets, no race. unshare(user
CVE-2023-0386 overlayfs copy_up preserves setuid bit across mount-ns boundary LPE (host root via setuid carrier from unprivileged mount) mainline 5.11 / 6.2-rc6 (Jan 2023) overlayfs_setuid 🟢 Distro-agnostic — places a setuid binary in an overlay lower, mounts via fuse-overlayfs userns trick, executes from upper to inherit the setuid bit + root euid. Branch backports tracked for 5.10.169 / 5.15.92 / 6.1.11 / 6.2.x.
CVE-2021-22555 iptables xt_compat heap-OOB → cross-cache UAF LPE (kernel R/W via 4-byte heap OOB write + msg_msg/sk_buff groom) mainline 5.12 / 5.11.10 (Apr 2021) netfilter_xtcompat 🟡 Hand-rolled ipt_replace blob + setsockopt(IPT_SO_SET_REPLACE) fires the 4-byte OOB, msg_msg spray in kmalloc-2k + sk_buff sidecar, MSG_COPY scan for cross-cache landing + slabinfo delta. Stops before the leak → modprobe_path overwrite chain (per-kernel offsets refused). Branch backports: 5.11.10 / 5.10.27 / 5.4.110 / 4.19.185 / 4.14.230 / 4.9.266 / 4.4.266. Bug existed since 2.6.19 (2006). Andy Nguyen's PGZ disclosure.
CVE-2017-7308 AF_PACKET TPACKET_V3 integer overflow → heap write-where LPE (CAP_NET_RAW via userns) mainline 4.11 / 4.10.6 (Mar 2017) af_packet 🟡 Konovalov's TPACKET_V3 overflow + 200-skb spray + best-effort cred race. Offset table (Ubuntu 16.04/4.4 + 18.04/4.15) + IAMROOT_AFPACKET_OFFSETS env override for other kernels. x86_64-only; ARM returns PRECOND_FAIL. Branch backports: 4.10.6 / 4.9.18 / 4.4.57 / 3.18.49.
CVE-2022-0185 legacy_parse_param fsconfig heap OOB → container-escape LPE (cross-cache UAF → cred overwrite from rootless container) mainline 5.16.2 (Jan 2022) fuse_legacy 🟡 userns+mountns reach, fsopen("cgroup2") + double fsconfig SET_STRING fires the 4k OOB, msg_msg cross-cache groom in kmalloc-4k, MSG_COPY read-back detects whether the OOB landed in an adjacent neighbour. Stops before the m_ts overflow → MSG_COPY arbitrary read chain (scaffold present, no per-kernel offsets). Container-escape angle — relevant to rootless docker/podman/snap. Branch backports: 5.16.2 / 5.15.14 / 5.10.91 / 5.4.171.
CVE-2023-3269 StackRot — maple-tree VMA-split UAF LPE (kernel R/W via maple node use-after-RCU) mainline 6.4-rc4 (Jul 2023) stackrot 🟡 Two-thread race driver (MAP_GROWSDOWN + mremap rotation vs fork+fault) with cpu pinning + 3 s budget; kmalloc-192 spray for anon_vma/anon_vma_chain; race-iteration + signal breadcrumb. Honest reliability note in module header: ~<1% race-win/run on a vulnerable kernel — the public PoC averages minutes-to-hours and needs a much wider VMA staging matrix to be reliable. Useful as a "is the maple-tree path reachable here?" probe. Branch backports: 6.4.4 / 6.3.13 / 6.1.37.
CVE-2020-14386 AF_PACKET tpacket_rcv VLAN integer underflow LPE (heap OOB write via crafted frame) mainline 5.9 (Sep 2020) af_packet2 🟡 Sibling of CVE-2017-7308; tp_reserve underflow + sendmmsg skb spray + slab-delta witness. PRIMITIVE-DEMO scope (no cred overwrite). Branch backports: 5.8.7 / 5.7.16 / 5.4.62 / 4.19.143 / 4.14.197 / 4.9.235. Or Cohen's disclosure. Shares iamroot-af-packet audit key with CVE-2017-7308.
CVE-2023-32233 nf_tables anonymous-set UAF LPE (kernel UAF in nft_set transaction) mainline 6.4-rc4 (May 2023) nft_set_uaf 🟡 Sondej+Krysiuk. Hand-rolled nfnetlink batch (NEWTABLE → NEWCHAIN → NEWSET(ANON|EVAL) → NEWRULE(lookup) → DELSET → DELRULE) drives the deactivation skip; cg-512 msg_msg cross-cache spray. Branch backports: 4.19.283 / 5.4.243 / 5.10.180 / 5.15.111 / 6.1.28 / 6.2.15 / 6.3.2. --full-chain forges freed-set with set->data = kaddr.
CVE-2023-4622 AF_UNIX garbage-collector race UAF LPE (slab UAF, plain unprivileged) mainline 6.6-rc1 (Aug 2023) af_unix_gc 🟡 Lin Ma. Two-thread race driver: SCM_RIGHTS cycle vs unix_gc trigger; kmalloc-512 (SLAB_TYPESAFE_BY_RCU) refill via msg_msg. Widest deployment of any module — bug exists since 2.x. No userns required. Branch backports: 4.14.326 / 4.19.295 / 5.4.257 / 5.10.197 / 5.15.130 / 6.1.51 / 6.5.0.
CVE-2022-25636 nft_fwd_dup_netdev_offload heap OOB LPE (kernel R/W via offload action[] OOB) mainline 5.17 / 5.16.11 (Feb 2022) nft_fwd_dup 🟡 Aaron Adams (NCC). NFT_CHAIN_HW_OFFLOAD chain + 16 immediates + fwd writes past action.entries[1]. msg_msg kmalloc-512 spray. Branch backports: 5.4.181 / 5.10.102 / 5.15.25 / 5.16.11.
CVE-2023-0179 nft_payload set-id memory corruption LPE (regs->data[] OOB R/W) mainline 6.2-rc4 / 6.1.6 (Jan 2023) nft_payload 🟡 Davide Ornaghi. NFTA_SET_DESC variable-length element + NFTA_SET_ELEM_EXPRESSIONS payload-set whose verdict.code drives the OOB. Dual cg-96 + 1k spray. Branch backports: 4.14.302 / 4.19.269 / 5.4.229 / 5.10.163 / 5.15.88 / 6.1.6.
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)
pwnkit — (upgrade polkit) ✓ (workdir nuke) ✓ (auditd + sigma)
overlayfs — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (auditd)
dirty_cow — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (evict page cache) ✓ (auditd + sigma)
ptrace_traceme — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (auditd)
cgroup_release_agent — (mount cgroup ns) ✓ (auditd)
overlayfs_setuid — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (auditd)
nf_tables ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd)
cls_route4 ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (teardown + log unlink) ✓ (auditd)
netfilter_xtcompat ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (log unlink) ✓ (auditd)
af_packet ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (auditd, shared key)
af_packet2 ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (auditd, shared key)
fuse_legacy ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd)
stackrot ✓ (race) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (log unlink) ✓ (auditd)
nft_set_uaf ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd + sigma)
af_unix_gc ✓ (race) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd)
nft_fwd_dup ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd)
nft_payload ✓ (primitive) — (upgrade kernel) ✓ (queue drain) ✓ (auditd + sigma)

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)