CVE-2017-7533 — Race condition in the fsnotify implementation in the Linux kernel through 4

Race condition in the fsnotify implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.12.4 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted application that leverages simultaneous execution of the inotify_handle_event and vfs_rename funct

01What is this vulnerability?

Race condition in the fsnotify implementation in the Linux kernel through 4.12.4 allows local users to gain privileges or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted application that leverages simultaneous execution of the inotify_handle_event and vfs_rename functions.

02Affected products

No structured affected-product list available — see references below for vendor advisories.

03Active exploitation status

Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Ask SARA in chat to draft a starting detection for this CVE in your stack of choice.

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2017-08-05T16:29:00.180
• Last modified: 2026-05-13T00:24:29.033

09References

• git.kernel.org — http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=49d31c…
• openwall.com — http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/08/03/2
• www.debian.org — http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3927
• www.debian.org — http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3945
• www.openwall.com — http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/06/27/7
• www.openwall.com — http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/06/28/1
• www.openwall.com — http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/06/28/2
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/100123
• www.securitytracker.com — http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039075
• access.redhat.com — https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:2473