CVE-2011-4916Public exploit

Keystroke inference via exposed terminal metadata

Published Jul 12, 2022 · Updated Aug 7, 2024

Information disclosure in Linux Kernel 3.1 and earlier allows local users to infer others' keystrokes through terminal device metadata. Permissive access to /dev/pts/* and /dev/tty* exposes terminal activity changes that reveal inter-keystroke timing rather than typed bytes directly. A low-privileged account and concurrent terminal activity are required; the consequence is indirect disclosure of typed secrets.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in Linux Kernel 3.1 and earlier allows local users to infer others' keystrokes through terminal device metadata. Permissive access to /dev/pts/* and /dev/tty* exposes terminal activity changes that reveal inter-keystroke timing rather than typed bytes directly. A low-privileged account and concurrent terminal activity are required; the consequence is indirect disclosure of typed secrets.

The record

CVE
CVE-2011-4916
Published
Jul 12, 2022
Updated
Aug 7, 2024
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-200, T1056.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 12, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 7, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Linux Kernel <= 3.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=Linux Kernel <= 3.1

Published CVSS scores

2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
T1056.001Input Capture: Keylogging

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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