CVE-2016-2854

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.9% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: yes
Published: 2016-05-02 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-269

Description

The aufs module for the Linux kernel 3.x and 4.x does not properly maintain POSIX ACL xattr data, which allows local users to gain privileges by leveraging a group-writable setgid directory.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 3.0.0 through 3.19.8; from 4.0.0 through 4.20.15

References

http://www.halfdog.net/Security/2016/AufsPrivilegeEscalationInUserNamespaces/
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/24/9
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96838
https://sourceforge.net/p/aufs/mailman/message/34864744/
http://www.halfdog.net/Security/2016/AufsPrivilegeEscalationInUserNamespaces/
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2016/02/24/9
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96838
https://sourceforge.net/p/aufs/mailman/message/34864744/

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