Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2007-4774
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 · uneditedThe Linux kernel before 2.4.36-rc1 has a race condition. It was possible to bypass systrace policies by flooding the ptraced process with SIGCONT signals, which can can wake up a PTRACED process.
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 confidenceThis is a race condition vulnerability in Linux kernel versions before 2.4.36-rc1 where systrace policies could be bypassed by flooding a ptraced process with SIGCONT signals. The attack exploits the timing window between when a process is stopped and when it is awakened, allowing attackers to circumvent systrace restrictions.
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
<= 2.4.35CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check the running kernel versionRun `uname -r` or check /proc/version to see the kernel release versionAffected if The version is 2.4.35 or earlier (2.4.x series)
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Determine if systrace is installedCheck if the systrace kernel option is enabled or if systrace utilities are present: look for /proc/sys/kernel/systrace or run `which systrace`Affected if Systrace is compiled into the kernel or installed on the system
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Verify ptrace is accessibleCheck if the ptrace system call is available: verify /proc/sys/kernel/yama/ptrace_scope or run `grep -i ptrace /boot/config-$(uname -r)`Affected if ptrace is enabled and processes can be traced
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Identify processes using ptraceRun `ps -eo pid,comm,args | head -20` and check for debuggers or processes that may be tracedAffected if Any production processes are being ptraced in a policy-enforced environment
The system is affected only if it runs a Linux kernel 2.4.35 or earlier AND has systrace enabled with ptraced processes; modern systems running 2.6+ or later kernels are not affected.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Linux kernel to version 2.4.36-rc1 or later. For modern systems, this vulnerability is irrelevant as 2.4.x kernels are obsolete; ensure systems run current supported kernel versions.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-4774 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-4774 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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