Linux KernelOperating system · Ubuntu

CVE-2006-7229

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2007-11-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
The skge driver 1.5 in Linux kernel 2.6.15 on Ubuntu does not properly use the spin_lock and spin_unlock functions, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (machine crash) via a flood of network traffic.

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 skge driver version 1.5 in Linux kernel 2.6.15 on Ubuntu improperly uses spin_lock and spin_unlock functions, creating a race condition or deadlock scenario. When an attacker floods the network interface handled by this driver, the faulty locking mechanism can cause the kernel to panic and crash the machine.

MitigationUpgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the corrected skge driver with proper spin_lock/spin_unlock usage. For systems that cannot be upgraded, consider replacing the skge network card with a different NIC driver or implementing network-level filtering to block malicious traffic before it reaches the affected interface.

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:= 2.6.15

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to identify the running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version is exactly 2.6.15 (Ubuntu build)
  2. Verify skge driver presence
    Run 'modprobe -l | grep skge' or check if the skge module exists in /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/kernel/drivers/net/
    Affected if The skge driver module is present on the system
  3. Identify active skge interfaces
    Run 'lsmod | grep skge' to check if the driver is loaded, and 'ip link show' or 'ifconfig -a' to list network interfaces. Then run 'ethtool -i <interface>' on each interface to identify those using the skge driver
    Affected if The skge driver is loaded and actively managing at least one network interface

A system is affected if it runs Ubuntu Linux kernel 2.6.15 AND has the skge driver loaded managing a network interface, exposing it to potential kernel panic from the spin_lock race condition when that interface receives malicious traffic.

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 the Linux kernel to a version that includes the corrected skge driver with proper spin_lock/spin_unlock usage. For systems that cannot be upgraded, consider replacing the skge network card with a different NIC driver or implementing network-level filtering to block malicious traffic before it reaches the affected interface.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2006-7229 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