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Fencer Intel
medium 6.7

CVE-2015-8660 json

The ovl_setattr function in fs/overlayfs/inode.c in the Linux kernel through 4.3.3 attempts to merge distinct setattr operations, which all…

published 2015-12-28 10 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2015-8537

cvss
6.7
version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
22.2%
EPSS 22.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 97%
public exploits
4
Metasploit, Exploit-DB

Summary

The ovl_setattr function in fs/overlayfs/inode.c in the Linux kernel through 4.3.3 attempts to merge distinct setattr operations, which allows local users to bypass intended access restrictions and modify the attributes of arbitrary overlay files via a crafted application.

Patch / fix

  • linux linux_kernel 3.18.31, 4.1.22, 4.4
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 4.3.3-3

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2015-8660

  • linux-lts-wily Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 4.2.0-23.28~14.04.1
  • linux-lts-vivid Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 3.19.0-43.49~14.04.1

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2015-8660

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • kernel RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • perf RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • python-perf RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • kernel-kdump RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • kernel-tools RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • kernel-tools-libs RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • kernel-bootwrapper RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
  • kernel-abi-whitelists RHEL 7 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7

red hat advisories RHSA-2016:1539RHSA-2016:1532RHSA-2016:1541

  • kernel-ec2 SLE Module for Public Cloud 12 3.12.53-60.30.1
  • kernel-xen SLES for SAP 12 SP1, SLES 12 SP1, SLED 12 SP1 3.12.53-60.30.1
  • kernel-syms SLES for SAP 12 SP1, SLES 12 SP1, SLED 12 SP1 3.12.53-60.30.1
  • kernel-source SLES for SAP 12 SP1, SLES 12 SP1, SLED 12 SP1 3.12.53-60.30.1
  • lttng-modules SLES for SAP 12 SP1, SLES 12 SP1 2.7.0-3.1
  • kernel-default SLES for SAP 12 SP1, SLES 12 SP1, SLED 12 SP1 +1 more 3.12.53-60.30.1
  • kernel-obs-build SLE Software Development Kit 12 SP1 3.12.53-60.30.2
  • kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP1_Update_2 SLE Live Patching 12 2-2.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2016:0752-1SUSE-SU-2016:0755-1SUSE-SU-2016:0751-1SUSE-SU-2016:0585-1

  • kernel-source openSUSE Tumbleweed 4.8.13-1.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2024:10128-1

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2015-8660 updated cvss 6.0

kernel: Permission bypass on overlayfs during copy_up

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2016:1539
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Real Time for NFV (v. 7) kernel-rt 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-kvm 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-trace 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-trace-kvm 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Realtime (v. 7) kernel-rt 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-trace 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.rt56.234.el7_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2016:1541
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-kdump 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, +6 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.28.2.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2016:1539
  • Red Hat MRG Realtime for RHEL 6 Server v.2 kernel-rt 3.10.0-327.rt56.194.el6rt, kernel-rt-trace 3.10.0-327.rt56.194.el6rt, kernel-rt-vanilla 3.10.0-327.rt56.194.el6rt, kernel-rt-firmware 3.10.0-327.rt56.194.el6rt, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.rt56.194.el6rt
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2016:1532
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/linux/local/overlayfs_priv_esc)
  2. Published

Exploit prediction

22.20% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/linux/local/overlayfs_priv_esc Overlayfs Privilege Escalation metasploit exploit, good rank, 2015-06-16
  • EDB-40688 Linux Kernel (Ubuntu / Fedora / RedHat) - 'Overlayfs' Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) local, 2016-11-02
  • EDB-39230 Linux Kernel 4.3.3 - 'overlayfs' Local Privilege Escalation (2) local, 2016-01-12
  • EDB-39166 Linux Kernel 4.3.3 (Ubuntu 14.04/15.10) - 'overlayfs' Local Privilege Escalation (1) local, 2016-01-05

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.1 6.7 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 7.2 AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-264 Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.