Threats / Linux / CVE-2014-3153
CVE-2014-3153
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Linux Kernel vulnerability
The futex_requeue function in the Linux kernel fails to validate that requeue operations target distinct futex addresses, allowing local attackers to escalate privileges through improper state manipulation.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Linux kernel futex handling. Attackers with local system access can exploit insufficient address validation in futex_requeue to gain elevated privileges. Active exploitation in the wild confirms practical attack viability.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-05-254EPSS 0.37233 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 7.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
5 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-25).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.37233 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Linux, Kernel. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management — weakness family: Authorization / access control.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 2909 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I gain local system access as an unprivileged user on a vulnerable Linux system.
Business
An attacker establishes a foothold on the system with standard user permissions.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft a futex_requeue call that requeues a futex to itself by bypassing address validation checks.
Business
The vulnerability allows manipulation of kernel synchronization primitives without proper safeguards.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I trigger a race condition or state corruption in the kernel's futex handling logic through the invalid requeue operation.
Business
Kernel memory integrity is compromised, creating conditions for privilege escalation.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I execute code with root or kernel-level privileges by exploiting the corrupted kernel state.
Business
The attacker gains complete system control, enabling data theft, malware installation, or lateral movement.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05