Security Analyst – Jeff Soehner CISSP, GXPN,GPYC,GMOB,GCIH

Last week, in a self-proclaimed mistake made more than a decade ago, Linus Torvalds, the father of the Linux Operating system introduced a race condition that every version of Linux has today. Referred to as a Zero-day (0-day) this vulnerability affects all versions of Linux today and is described as a bug in the kernel that allows read write access to a read only memory location. More info here

Introduced to fix another bug in a system call called get_user_pages() this ‘fix by torvalds’ results in any server currently running an open service port being vulnerable to this attack. This represents a staggering amount of servers, routers, cameras, IP phones, Android Smart Phones, digital video recorders, The list is endless for the use of Linux today so swift patching is key. You may be surprised to learn that traffic control systems, high speed trains, nuclear submarines, robotic systems, fridges and stoves, play stations and even the Hadron collider runs on Linux and would also be vulnerable to this recent vulnerability.

The bug was witnessed by a keen observer who was inspecting his web server logs so there are known exploits for this 0-day publically available. The implications of this vulnerability is staggering and the press has not given this much attention. This affect EVERY Linux based system out there going back over a DECADE.

The real shame is that there are already millions of embedded devices out there that will never receive patches and will remain vulnerable to this attack!