One post tagged with "linux"

Linux root exploits (Local Privilege Escalation)​

Unix is designed as a multi-user system. Different users have their own files and processes and can work without interference from others. Linux lives in that tradition. It has advanced the concept with namespaces where users can also have a private view on networking, process list, filesystems and other pieces that are traditionally shared (read-only) on a Unix system, also including some resource management to enhance performance isolation.

It is the operating system's kernel's job to keep the separation safe; in particular, normal users must not achieve the system administrator (root) privileges. Where the kernel fails to ensure this, we have a "local root" vulnerability, a Local Privilege Escalation (LPE).