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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2006-3626

MEDIUM · 6.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-07-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Race condition in Linux kernel 2.6.17.4 and earlier allows local users to gain root privileges by using prctl with PR_SET_DUMPABLE in a way that causes /proc/self/environ to become setuid root.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Race condition in Linux kernel 2.6.17.4 and earlier allows local users to exploit prctl() with PR_SET_DUMPABLE to cause /proc/self/environ to become setuid root, enabling privilege escalation to root.

MitigationUpgrade Linux kernel to version 2.6.17.5 or later; for legacy systems, apply the vendor-supplied patch for this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:= 2.6.16= 2.6.16.1= 2.6.16.2= 2.6.16.3= 2.6.16.4= 2.6.16.5= 2.6.16.6= 2.6.16.7= 2.6.16.8= 2.6.16.9= 2.6.16.10= 2.6.16.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the running kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to obtain the kernel version
    Affected if The version is 2.6.16.x (specifically 2.6.16 through 2.6.16.11)
  2. Verify /proc/self/environ permissions
    Run `ls -la /proc/self/environ` to check the file permissions and ownership
    Affected if The file shows setuid root ownership (typically mode 4755 with owner and group root) instead of the user's own UID
  3. Check for processes using PR_SET_DUMPABLE
    Review any custom or third-party applications that call prctl() with PR_SET_DUMPABLE; search application source code or logs for prctl(PR_SET_DUMPABLE) calls
    Affected if Any locally-developed or third-party software uses prctl() with the PR_SET_DUMPABLE flag in a way that could trigger the race condition
  4. Audit /proc/*/environ for unexpected permissions
    Run `ls -la /proc/*/environ 2>/dev/null` to inspect environ file permissions across all processes
    Affected if Any process's /proc/<pid>/environ file has setuid root permissions (4755) indicating successful exploitation

A system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel in the 2.6.16.x range (2.6.16 through 2.6.16.11) and has processes with /proc/*/environ files showing setuid root permissions, indicating the race condition was exploited.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Linux kernel to version 2.6.17.5 or later; for legacy systems, apply the vendor-supplied patch for this vulnerability.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2006-3626 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data