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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 6 Oct 2022.
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2013-6282

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2013-11-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.2.54 / 3.4.12 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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 (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the v6k and v7 ARM platforms do not validate certain addresses, which allows attackers to read or modify the contents of arbitrary kernel memory locations via a crafted application, as exploited in the wild against Android devices in October and November 2013.

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

The get_user and put_user API functions in Linux kernel versions before 3.5.5 on ARM v6k and v7 platforms lack proper address validation, allowing unprivileged applications to read from or write to arbitrary kernel memory locations. This memory corruption vulnerability enables privilege escalation to root.

MitigationApply the upstream kernel patch addressing the missing address validation in get_user/put_user and update to Linux kernel 3.5.5 or later on affected ARM v6k/v7 systems, including Android devices.

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:< 3.2.54>= 3.3, < 3.4.12>= 3.5, < 3.5.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 system architecture
    Run 'uname -m' or check /proc/cpuinfo for 'Processor' or 'model name' fields. Look for ARMv6 or ARMv7 indicators.
    Affected if System is NOT running on ARM v6k or ARM v7 architecture (the vulnerability only affects these ARM variants)
  2. Determine installed kernel version
    Run 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to obtain the kernel version string.
    Affected if Kernel version falls into any of these ranges: < 3.2.54, OR >= 3.3 but < 3.4.12, OR >= 3.5 but < 3.5.5
  3. Verify ARM subarchitecture variant
    Check /proc/device-tree/compatible or examine boot logs for 'v6k' or 'v7' indicators in the ARM variant string.
    Affected if The ARM subarchitecture is NOT v6k or v7 (the flaw exists specifically in these ARM variants, not other ARM versions)
  4. Confirm get_user/put_user API presence
    These are kernel API functions. Check kernel configuration or module list for kernel headers usage. On Android, examine /system/lib/modules/ for loaded kernel module dependencies.
    Affected if These functions are present in the kernel (they are standard kernel APIs, so this is typically true for any Linux kernel)
  5. Validate exploitation condition
    The vulnerability requires unprivileged application execution. Confirm if the device allows running arbitrary applications (typical for Android devices, uncommon for locked-down embedded systems).
    Affected if The system permits execution of untrusted/unprivileged applications by non-root users

A system is affected if it runs on ARM v6k or ARM v7 architecture with a kernel version in the ranges < 3.2.54, >= 3.3 but < 3.4.12, or >= 3.5 but < 3.5.5.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.2.54 / 3.4.12 / 3.5.5 or later
Fixed in 3.2.543.4.123.5.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Interim mitigation

Apply the upstream kernel patch addressing the missing address validation in get_user/put_user and update to Linux kernel 3.5.5 or later on affected ARM v6k/v7 systems, including Android devices.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux Kernel 3.2.54, 3.4.12, 3.5.5, or later stable releases

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which upstream kernel branch your version is based on (e.g., 3.2.x, 3.4.x, or 3.5.x)
  3. Obtain and install the fixed kernel version for your distribution: 3.2.54, 3.4.12, or 3.5.5 (or any later stable release)
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by running `uname -r` and confirming the version is >= the fixed version for your branch
  6. For ARM-based Android devices, ensure the device manufacturer has released a firmware update containing this kernel patch
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuild of out-of-tree kernel modules; verify hardware driver compatibility before upgrading production systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2013-6282 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