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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2006-5753

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-01-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Unspecified vulnerability in the listxattr system call in Linux kernel, when a "bad inode" is present, allows local users to cause a denial of service (data corruption) and possibly gain privileges via unknown vectors.

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

Vulnerability in the Linux kernel's listxattr system call. When a 'bad inode' exists on the filesystem, local users can trigger unspecified vectors to cause data corruption (denial of service) and potentially escalate privileges to root.

MitigationApply the relevant kernel security patch or upgrade to a Linux kernel version that addresses this vulnerability. For systems where immediate patching is not feasible, consider filesystem-level access controls to limit untrusted users' access to potentially problematic inodes.

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:= 2.6.20.1
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 4.0
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
Affected:= 4.0

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
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/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` to display the currently running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version is 2.6.20.1 or the system is running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 or RHEL Desktop 4.0
  2. Verify if listxattr is accessible to local users
    Check if unprivileged users can execute the listxattr system call by examining filesystem permissions and ensuring no mandatory access controls (like SELinux or AppArmor) are actively blocking it
    Affected if Local untrusted users have access to filesystem operations and listxattr is not restricted by security modules
  3. Identify presence of untrusted local user accounts
    Review `/etc/passwd` and check for non-administrative user accounts, particularly those in groups with limited privileges
    Affected if There are untrusted local user accounts present on the system who could trigger the vulnerable code path
  4. Check filesystem for potentially bad inodes
    Run filesystem integrity checks or use tools like `fsck` in read-only mode to scan for inode anomalies, or examine dmesg for filesystem error messages related to corrupted inodes
    Affected if The filesystem contains corrupted or 'bad' inodes that could trigger the listxattr vulnerability

A system is affected if it runs kernel version 2.6.20.1 or RHEL 4.0, has untrusted local user accounts, and contains a bad inode that can be accessed via the listxattr system call.

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

Apply the relevant kernel security patch or upgrade to a Linux kernel version that addresses this vulnerability. For systems where immediate patching is not feasible, consider filesystem-level access controls to limit untrusted users' access to potentially problematic inodes.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2006-5753 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