Linux Kernel up to 3.14.5 Futex Subsystem kernel/futex.c futex_requeue access control

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.9$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as problematic has been detected in Linux Kernel 3.14.1/3.14.2/3.14.3/3.14.4/3.14.5. Affected is the function futex_requeue of the file kernel/futex.c of the component Futex Subsystem. The manipulation leads to access control. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2014-3153. In addition, an exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel 3.14.1/3.14.2/3.14.3/3.14.4/3.14.5 (Operating System). It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function futex_requeue of the file kernel/futex.c of the component Futex Subsystem. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a access control vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-264. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The weakness was presented 06/05/2014 by Pinkie Pie as DSA 2949-1 as confirmed mailinglist post (Mailing List). It is possible to read the advisory at lists.debian.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2014-3153 since 05/03/2014. The exploitation is known to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details as well as a public exploit are known. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK. The advisory points out:

(...) allows a local user to gain ring 0 control via the futex syscall. An unprivileged user could use this flaw to crash the kernel (resulting in denial of service) or for privilege escalation.

A public exploit has been developed by Kaiqu Chen in ANSI C and been published 7 months after the advisory. The exploit is available at securityfocus.com. It is declared as attacked. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $5k-$25k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 74357 (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS : linux-lts-quantal vulnerability (USN-2237-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Ubuntu Local Security Checks. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 167228 (SUSE Enterprise Linux Security Update for Linux Kernel (SUSE-SU-2014:0807-1)). The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog lists this issue since 05/25/2022 with a due date of 06/15/2022:

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Upgrading to version 3.2.57 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version. The vulnerability will be addressed with the following lines of code:

if (requeue_pi && match_futex(&key1, &key2)) {
   ret = -EINVAL;
   goto out_put_keys;
}

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (93593), Exploit-DB (35370), Tenable (74357), SecurityFocus (BID 67906†) and Secunia (SA59029†). seclists.org is providing further details. See VDB-11302, VDB-11755, VDB-12214 and VDB-12411 for similar entries. Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.9

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 8.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 7.8
CNA Vector: 🔍

ADP CISA Base Score: 7.8
ADP CISA Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Access control
CWE: CWE-264
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Author: Kaiqu Chen
Programming Language: 🔍
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

KEV Added: 🔍
KEV Due: 🔍
KEV Remediation: 🔍
KEV Ransomware: 🔍
KEV Notice: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Nessus ID: 74357
Nessus Name: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS : linux-lts-quantal vulnerability (USN-2237-1)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Port: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 800909
OpenVAS Name: Fedora Update for kernel FEDORA-2015-5024
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Saint ID: linux_kernel_futex_requeue
Saint Name: Linux kernel futex_requeue privilege elevation

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

MetaSploit ID: futex_requeue.rb
MetaSploit Name: Android Towelroot Futex Requeue Kernel Exploit
MetaSploit File: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍
Exploit Delay Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Kernel 3.2.57
Patch: git.kernel.org

Timelineinfo

05/03/2014 🔍
06/05/2014 +33 days 🔍
06/05/2014 +0 days 🔍
06/06/2014 +1 days 🔍
06/06/2014 +0 days 🔍
06/06/2014 +0 days 🔍
06/07/2014 +1 days 🔍
06/07/2014 +0 days 🔍
06/08/2014 +1 days 🔍
06/19/2014 +11 days 🔍
11/25/2014 +159 days 🔍
11/25/2014 +0 days 🔍
04/22/2026 +4166 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: DSA 2949-1
Researcher: Pinkie Pie
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2014-3153 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2014-3153
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-13463

OVAL: 🔍

X-Force: 93593 - Linux Kernel futex privilege escalation, High Risk
SecurityFocus: 67906 - Linux Kernel CVE-2014-3153 Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Secunia: 59029 - Linux Kernel Futex Requeue Privilege Escalation Vulnerability, Less Critical
SecurityTracker: 1030451 - Linux Kernel PI Futex Requeuing Bug Lets Local Users Gain Elevated Privileges
Vulnerability Center: 44792 - Linux Kernel <=3.14.5 Local Security Bypass via Crafted FUTEX_REQUEUE Commend, High

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
Misc.: 🔍
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 06/06/2014 10:52
Updated: 04/22/2026 16:48
Changes: 06/06/2014 10:52 (89), 05/30/2017 09:13 (22), 06/20/2021 17:25 (3), 06/20/2021 17:33 (1), 04/26/2024 15:15 (28), 07/02/2024 22:28 (12), 09/09/2024 22:30 (1), 02/03/2025 18:05 (10), 04/22/2026 16:48 (9)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Are you interested in using VulDB?

Download the whitepaper to learn more about our service!