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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2006-4663

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2006-09-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The source code tar archive of the Linux kernel 2.6.16, 2.6.17.11, and possibly other versions specifies weak permissions (0666 and 0777) for certain files and directories, which might allow local users to insert Trojan horse source code that would be used during the next kernel compilation. NOTE: another researcher disputes the vulnerability, stating that he finds "Not a single world-writable file or directory." CVE analysis as of 20060908 indicates that permissions will only be weak under certain unusual or insecure scenarios

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 · moderate confidence

The source code tar archives for Linux kernel 2.6.16 and 2.6.17.11 contained files with overly permissive modes (0666 and 0777), allowing local users potentially to modify source code that would be compiled into the kernel. However, the vulnerability is disputed and analysis indicates weak permissions only manifest under unusual or insecure scenarios.

MitigationVerify integrity and permissions of kernel source archives before compilation; obtain sources from official/signed distribution points and compile in an isolated environment as a non-root user.

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= 2.6.17.11

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify installed kernel source version
    Check the Makefile in the kernel source directory for the VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, and EXTRAVERSION values (e.g., 'make kernelversion' or look at include/linux/version.h')
    Affected if The version is exactly 2.6.16 or 2.6.17.11
  2. Inspect source file permissions
    Run 'find . -type f -perm -0666' or 'find . -type f -perm -0777' in the kernel source root directory to list files with overly permissive modes
    Affected if Any source files are found with 0666 or 0777 permissions, particularly in critical directories like kernel/, mm/, or crypto/
  3. Check source archive permissions
    If using compressed archives (.tar.gz, .tar.bz2), extract a sample and run 'ls -la' on the extracted files; verify the archive was obtained from an official kernel.org mirror or trusted distributor
    Affected if Extracted source files show 0666 (rw-rw-rw-) or 0777 (rwxrwxrwx) permissions, or the archive source is unknown/unverified
  4. Review file ownership and umask context
    Examine the ownership of source files (ls -la) and check if they were extracted by root or with an overly permissive umask setting
    Affected if Source files are owned by root and have group/other write permissions set, and extraction was performed with umask 0000 or in an insecure environment

You are affected if you have kernel source versions 2.6.16 or 2.6.17.11 present in your environment AND the source files exhibit overly permissive permissions (0666/0777) that could allow modification before compilation.

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

Verify integrity and permissions of kernel source archives before compilation; obtain sources from official/signed distribution points and compile in an isolated environment as a non-root user.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2006-4663 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