1 ==== 2 CVEs 3 ==== 4 5 Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE®) numbers were developed as an 6 unambiguous way to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed 7 security vulnerabilities. Over time, their usefulness has declined with 8 regards to the kernel project, and CVE numbers were very often assigned 9 in inappropriate ways and for inappropriate reasons. Because of this, 10 the kernel development community has tended to avoid them. However, the 11 combination of continuing pressure to assign CVEs and other forms of 12 security identifiers, and ongoing abuses by individuals and companies 13 outside of the kernel community has made it clear that the kernel 14 community should have control over those assignments. 15 16 The Linux kernel developer team does have the ability to assign CVEs for 17 potential Linux kernel security issues. This assignment is independent 18 of the :doc:`normal Linux kernel security bug reporting 19 process<../process/security-bugs>`. 20 21 A list of all assigned CVEs for the Linux kernel can be found in the 22 archives of the linux-cve mailing list, as seen on 23 https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/. To get notice of the 24 assigned CVEs, please `subscribe 25 <https://subspace.kernel.org/subscribing.html>`_ to that mailing list. 26 27 Process 28 ======= 29 30 As part of the normal stable release process, kernel changes that are 31 potentially security issues are identified by the developers responsible 32 for CVE number assignments and have CVE numbers automatically assigned 33 to them. These assignments are published on the linux-cve-announce 34 mailing list as announcements on a frequent basis. 35 36 Note, due to the layer at which the Linux kernel is in a system, almost 37 any bug might be exploitable to compromise the security of the kernel, 38 but the possibility of exploitation is often not evident when the bug is 39 fixed. Because of this, the CVE assignment team is overly cautious and 40 assign CVE numbers to any bugfix that they identify. This 41 explains the seemingly large number of CVEs that are issued by the Linux 42 kernel team. 43 44 If the CVE assignment team misses a specific fix that any user feels 45 should have a CVE assigned to it, please email them at <cve@kernel.org> 46 and the team there will work with you on it. Note that no potential 47 security issues should be sent to this alias, it is ONLY for assignment 48 of CVEs for fixes that are already in released kernel trees. If you 49 feel you have found an unfixed security issue, please follow the 50 :doc:`normal Linux kernel security bug reporting 51 process<../process/security-bugs>`. 52 53 No CVEs will be automatically assigned for unfixed security issues in 54 the Linux kernel; assignment will only automatically happen after a fix 55 is available and applied to a stable kernel tree, and it will be tracked 56 that way by the git commit id of the original fix. If anyone wishes to 57 have a CVE assigned before an issue is resolved with a commit, please 58 contact the kernel CVE assignment team at <cve@kernel.org> to get an 59 identifier assigned from their batch of reserved identifiers. 60 61 No CVEs will be assigned for any issue found in a version of the kernel 62 that is not currently being actively supported by the Stable/LTS kernel 63 team. A list of the currently supported kernel branches can be found at 64 https://kernel.org/releases.html 65 66 Disputes of assigned CVEs 67 ========================= 68 69 The authority to dispute or modify an assigned CVE for a specific kernel 70 change lies solely with the maintainers of the relevant subsystem 71 affected. This principle ensures a high degree of accuracy and 72 accountability in vulnerability reporting. Only those individuals with 73 deep expertise and intimate knowledge of the subsystem can effectively 74 assess the validity and scope of a reported vulnerability and determine 75 its appropriate CVE designation. Any attempt to modify or dispute a CVE 76 outside of this designated authority could lead to confusion, inaccurate 77 reporting, and ultimately, compromised systems. 78 79 Invalid CVEs 80 ============ 81 82 If a security issue is found in a Linux kernel that is only supported by 83 a Linux distribution due to the changes that have been made by that 84 distribution, or due to the distribution supporting a kernel version 85 that is no longer one of the kernel.org supported releases, then a CVE 86 can not be assigned by the Linux kernel CVE team, and must be asked for 87 from that Linux distribution itself. 88 89 Any CVE that is assigned against the Linux kernel for an actively 90 supported kernel version, by any group other than the kernel assignment 91 CVE team should not be treated as a valid CVE. Please notify the 92 kernel CVE assignment team at <cve@kernel.org> so that they can work to 93 invalidate such entries through the CNA remediation process. 94 95 Applicability of specific CVEs 96 ============================== 97 98 As the Linux kernel can be used in many different ways, with many 99 different ways of accessing it by external users, or no access at all, 100 the applicability of any specific CVE is up to the user of Linux to 101 determine, it is not up to the CVE assignment team. Please do not 102 contact us to attempt to determine the applicability of any specific 103 CVE. 104 105 Also, as the source tree is so large, and any one system only uses a 106 small subset of the source tree, any users of Linux should be aware that 107 large numbers of assigned CVEs are not relevant for their systems. 108 109 In short, we do not know your use case, and we do not know what portions 110 of the kernel that you use, so there is no way for us to determine if a 111 specific CVE is relevant for your system. 112 113 As always, it is best to take all released kernel changes, as they are 114 tested together in a unified whole by many community members, and not as 115 individual cherry-picked changes. Also note that for many bugs, the 116 solution to the overall problem is not found in a single change, but by 117 the sum of many fixes on top of each other. Ideally CVEs will be 118 assigned to all fixes for all issues, but sometimes we will fail to 119 notice fixes, therefore assume that some changes without a CVE assigned 120 might be relevant to take. 121
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