CVE-2019-15792Public exploit

System crash or code execution via bad cast

Published Apr 23, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Type confusion in shiftfs in Canonical Ubuntu Kernel 5.0 and 5.3 series allows local users to crash the system or execute code. shiftfs_btrfs_ioctl_fd_replace() passes an arbitrary fdget() result to shiftfs_real_fdget(), which treats filesystem-specific private_data as a shiftfs_file_info pointer without validating its type. The demonstrated path requires an unprivileged local user namespace, a shiftfs mount and a crafted Btrfs ioctl; success causes a kernel crash or kernel-context code execution.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability1.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Type confusion in shiftfs in Canonical Ubuntu Kernel 5.0 and 5.3 series allows local users to crash the system or execute code. shiftfs_btrfs_ioctl_fd_replace() passes an arbitrary fdget() result to shiftfs_real_fdget(), which treats filesystem-specific private_data as a shiftfs_file_info pointer without validating its type. The demonstrated path requires an unprivileged local user namespace, a shiftfs mount and a crafted Btrfs ioctl; success causes a kernel crash or kernel-context code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-15792
Published
Apr 23, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Canonical
Product
Ubuntu Kernel
Classifications
CWE-843, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 23, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=5.0 kernel <5.0.0-35.38
  2. Affected versionversion=5.3.0-11.12 <5.3 kernel* changes=[{"at":"5.3.0-22.24","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Canonical · Ubuntu Kernelversion=5.0 kernel <5.0.0-35.38; version=5.3.0-11.12 <5.3 kernel* changes=[{"at":"5.3.0-22.24","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

7.1Canonical Ltd.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-843Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo