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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2018-7754

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-08-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.15 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 aoedisk_debugfs_show function in drivers/block/aoe/aoeblk.c in the Linux kernel through 4.16.4rc4 allows local users to obtain sensitive address information by reading "ffree: " lines in a debugfs file.

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

A local information disclosure vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AoE (ATA over Ethernet) driver. The aoedisk_debugfs_show function in drivers/block/aoe/aoeblk.c exposes kernel memory addresses through debugfs 'ffree: ' output lines, allowing local users to potentially leak sensitive kernel address information that could aid in bypassing KASLR protection.

MitigationUpgrade to a kernel version beyond 4.16.4rc4, or patch the aoedisk_debugfs_show function to remove address leakage from debugfs output.

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:<= 4.15= 4.16

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check your kernel version
    Run `uname -r` and compare the output to the affected ranges: any version <= 4.15 or exactly 4.16
    Affected if The installed kernel version is 4.15.x or earlier, or exactly 4.16.x (versions 4.16.4rc4 and later are not affected)
  2. Verify the AoE driver is loaded
    Run `lsmod | grep aoe` or check if `/sys/module/aoe` exists
    Affected if The aoe kernel module is loaded, making the vulnerable code path accessible
  3. Confirm debugfs is mounted and accessible
    Run `mount | grep debugfs` and check if `/sys/kernel/debug` is readable
    Affected if Debugfs is mounted and readable by the user, allowing access to the vulnerable output
  4. Inspect the AoE debugfs entries for address leakage
    Run `cat /sys/kernel/debug/aoedisk*/* 2>/dev/null` or list `/sys/kernel/debug/aoe*` and look for lines containing 'ffree:' followed by hex addresses
    Affected if The output contains hexadecimal addresses after 'ffree:' or similar kernel pointer values

You are affected if you run a kernel version <= 4.15 or exactly 4.16, the AoE driver is loaded, and the debugfs interface exposes kernel addresses in the aoedisk entries.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.15
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a kernel version beyond 4.16.4rc4, or patch the aoedisk_debugfs_show function to remove address leakage from debugfs output.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2018-7754 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