Description
The utimensat system call (sys_utimensat) in Linux kernel 2.6.22 and other versions before 2.6.25.3 does not check file permissions when certain UTIME_NOW and UTIME_OMIT combinations are used, which allows local users to modify file times of arbitrary files, possibly leading to a denial of service.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat MRG 1 | kernel-rt +9 | 2.6.24.7-74.el5rt | RHSA-2008:0585 |
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2008:0585 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
References
- http://kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.25.3
- http://wiki.rpath.com/wiki/Advisories:rPSA-2008-0169
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-2.6.25.y.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=f9dfda1ad0637a89a64d001cf81478bd8d9b6306
- MDVSA-2008:167 vendor-advisory
- linux-kernel-sysutimensat-dos(42342) vdb-entry
- 30198 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2008:0585 vendor-advisory
- 30241 third-party-advisory
- 31107 third-party-advisory
- 31628 third-party-advisory
- USN-625-1 vendor-advisory
- 29134 vdb-entry
- ADV-2008-1543 vdb-entry
- SUSE-SA:2008:030 vendor-advisory
- 30818 third-party-advisory