Red Hat joins Ubuntu in patching Linux kernel exploit

Red Hat and Canonical have released patches for a vulnerability in Linux kernels 2.6.39 and above that enables attackers to gain root access on a system. Proof-of-concept exploit code was posted last week after “CVE-2012-0056″ was exposed — thanks to Linus Torvalds announcing a kernel patch before Linux distro projects had had time to apply it.

A kernel patch submitted on Jan. 17 by Linux overseer Linus Torvalds designed to repair a privilege escalation vulnerability quickly spawned the publication of proof-of-concept exploit code. The patch was publicized before Linux distro projects had time to apply their own patches — leaving any distro with Linux kernels 2.6.39 and above vulnerable to root access exploits.

Read more at LinuxDevices