CVE-2015-8709 Privilege escalation in n/a

What is CVE-2015-8709?

CVE-2015-8709 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Feb 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

kernel/ptrace.c in the Linux kernel through 4.4.1 mishandles uid and gid mappings, which allows local users to gain privileges by establishing a user namespace, waiting for a root process to enter that namespace with an unsafe uid or gid, and then using the ptrace system call. NOTE: the vendor states "there is no kernel bug here.

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-8709?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2015-8709?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2015-8709 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-8709 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2015-8709, GHSA-fpp6-vh8j-3rgm, UBUNTU-CVE-2015-8709.