Methodology for discovering and exploiting Linux kernel memory-corruption vulnerabilities (UAF, OOB read/write, race/TOCTOU, type confusion) during authorized engagements, covering reachability analysis, building stable read/write primitives from a single bug, defeating KASLR/SMEP/SMAP/KPTI, slab/buddy heap grooming, and pivoting to ring-0 code execution or credential overwrite for local privilege escalation.
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name
exploiting-linux-kernel-vulnerabilities
description
Methodology for discovering and exploiting Linux kernel memory-corruption vulnerabilities (UAF, OOB read/write, race/TOCTOU, type confusion) during authorized engagements, covering reachability analysis, building stable read/write primitives from a single bug, defeating KASLR/SMEP/SMAP/KPTI, slab/buddy heap grooming, and pivoting to ring-0 code execution or credential overwrite for local privilege escalation.
During authorized kernel security assessments, local privilege-escalation (LPE) research, or sandbox-escape work where
unprivileged userland can reach kernel code through a syscall, ioctl, socket family, netlink, or a vulnerable driver.
When triaging a kernel crash (Oops, KASAN splat, GENERAL PROTECTION fault, BUG: KASAN: use-after-free) and you
need to determine whether the bug is a controllable UAF, OOB, double-free, or race rather than a pure null-deref DoS.
When a recent CVE (e.g., AF_UNIX MSG_OOB UAF / CVE-2025-38236, POSIX CPU-timers TOCTOU / CVE-2025-38352, ksmbd
OOB write / CVE-2025-37947) is in scope and you must confirm reachability and exploitability on the target build.
As the methodology that turns a weak kernel primitive (a 1-byte read, a +N increment, a single freed object) into
full kernel read/write/execute.
Critical: Concepts/Steps Most Often Missed
A KASAN splat is not yet a primitive. A reported UAF/OOB only proves corruption. You must show the freed/overflowed
object is reclaimable into attacker-controlled memory and that the corrupted field is security-relevant (a function
pointer, a length, a cred*, a list head). The AF_UNIX bug, for example, only matters once the dangling oob_skb is
reallocated into a pipe page you control.
Trusting the kernel version string. Vendors backport both buggy and fixed patches. Check for the actual fixing
commit (e.g., 32ca245464e1 for the AF_UNIX OOB fix) and the relevant CONFIG_* gate (CONFIG_AF_UNIX_OOB,
CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_KSTACK_OFFSET, CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO) rather than the release banner.
Ignoring usercopy hardening.__check_object_size() / __check_heap_object() reject copies against .text and
specialized caches and return -EFAULTwithout crashing. Reads/writes against .data, .bss, vmemmap, per-CPU
vmalloc ranges, other threads' kernel stacks, and direct-map pages generally succeed — design the primitive around what
is allowed.
Forgetting modern mitigations. SMEP blocks executing userland code in ring 0; SMAP blocks reading/writing userland
in kernel context (note: x86_64 disables SMAP ); KPTI splits page tables; KASLR + per-syscall
randomize layout; CFI/ constrains indirect calls. Each forces a data-only
or ROP-based path instead of naive .
inside
copy_to_user
RANDOMIZE_KSTACK_OFFSET
CONFIG_CFI_CLANG
ret2usr
Non-deterministic heap state. Skipping slab grooming makes reallocation unreliable. Drain per-CPU freelists, defeat
SLUB freelist randomization with mass spray, and account for per-CPU partial/page lists before expecting a freed object
to come back under your control.
How to CONFIRM
Build the target kernel (or run the distro kernel) with KASAN under QEMU and attach gdb to the QEMU gdbstub
(qemu -s -S, then target remote :1234, load vmlinux symbols). Trigger the bug from a minimal C reproducer; a KASAN
report naming use-after-free / out-of-bounds at a known function confirms the corruption class and the faulting
object/cache. Then prove control: reallocate the object with a spray of known marker bytes and read them back through the
primitive. If your markers appear (e.g., recv(MSG_OOB|MSG_PEEK) returns the byte you planted), the primitive is real,
not just a crash.
Workflow
Step 1: Establish Reachability and Profile the Target
uname -r # kernel release (verify against the fixing commit, do not trust alone)cat /boot/config-$(uname -r) | grep -E 'KASLR|SMEP|SMAP|KPTI|CFI|RANDOMIZE_KSTACK|AF_UNIX_OOB|INIT_STACK'cat /proc/sys/kernel/kptr_restrict /proc/sys/kernel/perf_event_paranoid
ls -l /dev/ | grep -i <driver> # reachable device nodes for ioctl bugs
Confirm an unprivileged process can reach the vulnerable code path (syscall/ioctl/socket). Write a minimal C trigger:
UAF -> reallocate freed object with controlled data (msg_msg, sk_buff, pipe_buffer, setxattr, user_key_payload)
OOB write -> overwrite an adjacent object's length/pointer to widen into arbitrary write
+N inc bug -> position a sensitive 64-bit value at the incremented offset (e.g., shift a length field by +4 GiB)
race/TOCTOU-> win the window with a stalling thread (mprotect/mmap-lock, MADV_DONTNEED hole) to freeze a copy mid-flight
Aim for two reusable primitives: an arbitrary read (leak) and an arbitrary write (control). The AF_UNIX case
yields a repeatable 1-byte read via recv(MSG_OOB|MSG_PEEK) and a +1 increment write when MSG_PEEK is clear.
Step 3: Defeat KASLR and Leak Kernel Base
# Read a fixed-mapping IDT descriptor and subtract the known handler offset to recover kernel base:
CPU_ENTRY_AREA_RO_IDT_VADDR = 0xfffffe0000000000
kernel_base = leaked_idt_handler - known_offset_in_vmlinux
Use the read primitive to walk .data (kmem_cache bases), vmemmap (page type/freelist), and per-CPU vmalloc segments to
predict the next allocation address of key caches (skbuff_head_cache, kmalloc-cg-192). Walk pgd_list to locate the
current mm_struct's root pgd when mm_struct itself is usercopy-blocked.
Step 4: Pivot to Kernel R/W/X and Escalate
# Data-only escalation (preferred, bypasses SMEP/KPTI/CFI):
1. Locate current task's cred via init_task / per-CPU current
2. Overwrite cred->uid/gid/euid/egid/cap_effective with 0 / full caps
3. Or overwrite struct file f_op, modprobe_path ("/sbin/modprobe" -> "/tmp/x"), or core_pattern
# PTE-overwrite escalation (full R/W/X):
1. Arrange a process-owned PTE page immediately after a controlled page (buddy adjacency in same 2 MiB block)
2. Use the OOB/overflow write to forge PTE entries -> map kernel physical memory RWX, disable SMEP/SMAP bits
// after data-only cred overwrite:
setresuid(0,0,0); system("/bin/sh"); // demonstrate root
Key Concepts
Concept
Description
UAF (use-after-free)
A freed object is still referenced; reclaiming it with controlled data hijacks behavior.
OOB read/write
Access past an allocation's bounds, corrupting/leaking an adjacent object's metadata.
TOCTOU / race
A check and use are separated; a stalling thread widens the window to win deterministically.
Slab grooming
Shaping SLUB per-CPU/partial freelists so a freed object is reclaimed by an attacker object.
Buddy recycling
Pushing a slab page back to the page allocator to reuse it as a pipe buffer, stack, or PTE page.
KASLR bypass
Leaking a fixed-mapping pointer (IDT) to recover the randomized kernel base.
SMEP/SMAP/KPTI/CFI
Mitigations that block ret2usr, userland access, page-table sharing, and indirect-call hijack.
Data-only attack
Escalating by overwriting cred, modprobe_path, or core_pattern instead of hijacking control flow.
Tools & Systems
Tool
Purpose
QEMU + gdb (vmlinux)
Boot the target kernel, attach to the gdbstub (-s -S), set breakpoints, inspect slab/stack.
KASAN / KFENCE
Sanitizer builds that pinpoint UAF/OOB with object and cache attribution.
pwntools
Userland exploit scaffolding, struct packing (p64), process control, payload staging.
Live-kernel and vmcore introspection of task_struct, cred, kmem_cache, pgd_list.
vmlinux-to-elf / ropper
Recover symbols from a stripped kernel image; find ROP/JOP gadgets for stack pivots.
syzkaller / trinity
Fuzzers to discover and minimize reachable kernel bugs in scope.
Common Scenarios
Scenario 1: AF_UNIX MSG_OOB UAF to LPE (CVE-2025-38236)
A flawed manage_oob() refactor leaves u->oob_skb dangling after a normal recv() frees the OOB SKB. Reclaiming the
slab page as a pipe buffer yields a repeatable 1-byte read and a +4 GiB increment of a length field; recycling the page
as a thread's kernel stack lets the increment inflate a copy_page_from_iter() length, overflowing into an adjacent PTE
page for arbitrary kernel R/W and root.
Scenario 2: ioctl OOB write in a vendor driver
An unprivileged ioctl with an attacker-controlled length writes past a kmalloc-512 object. Spray msg_msg objects to
place a controllable header adjacent, corrupt its size to build an arbitrary read, leak kernel base via IDT, then
overwrite modprobe_path to /tmp/x and trigger an unknown-binary exec to run a SUID-root helper.
Scenario 3: TOCTOU in POSIX CPU timers (CVE-2025-38352)
A race between timer expiry and task teardown corrupts kernel state. A stalling thread (blocking on the mmap lock via
mprotect() over a MADV_DONTNEED hole) freezes the window so the corruption lands deterministically, converting a
flaky race into a reliable freed-object reuse.
Scenario 4: Data-only cred overwrite under CFI
On a kernel with CFI + SMEP + KPTI, control-flow hijack is impractical. Instead, the arbitrary write is aimed at the
current task's cred structure, zeroing uid/gid/euid/egid and setting full cap_effective, granting root without
ever executing injected code or violating CFI.
Output Format
## Linux Kernel Exploitation Finding
**Vulnerability**: Use-after-free in AF_UNIX MSG_OOB handling (CWE-416)
**CVE**: CVE-2025-38236
**Severity**: High (local privilege escalation / sandbox escape)
**Target**: Ubuntu 6.9.x (CONFIG_AF_UNIX_OOB=y, fixing commit 32ca245464e1 NOT backported)
**Reachable From**: Unprivileged user via AF_UNIX SOCK_STREAM socketpair (no CAP_* required)
### Primitive Proof
- Trigger: stacked zero-length OOB SKBs + normal recv() frees live u->oob_skb
- Read: recv(MSG_OOB|MSG_PEEK) returns planted marker byte from reclaimed pipe page (repeatable)
- Write: recv(MSG_OOB) increments consumed field at offset 0x44 (+1, scaled to +4 GiB at 0x40)
- KASLR: kernel base leaked via IDT @ 0xfffffe0000000000
### Exploitation Path
UAF -> pipe-page realloc -> 1-byte arbitrary read -> kernel base + pgd
-> recycle page as thread stack -> inflate copy length -> PTE-page overwrite -> kernel RWX
-> overwrite current cred -> uid=0. Demonstrated `id` => uid=0(root).
### Impact
Full local privilege escalation to root / container-to-host escape from an unprivileged context.
### Recommendation
1. Apply upstream fix 32ca245464e1 (revalidate SKBs in manage_oob); rebuild/redeploy.
2. Set CONFIG_AF_UNIX_OOB=n unless OOB is required; filter MSG_OOB/MSG_PEEK in seccomp sandbox profiles.
3. Enable CONFIG_RANDOMIZE_KSTACK_OFFSET, CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO, CFI, SMEP/SMAP, KPTI.
4. Add slab freelist hardening (CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_RANDOM/HARDENED) and monitor abnormal pipe/page-table churn.
