linux
New Spectre v2 attack variant leaks Linux root password hash in minutes
A new Spectre v2 attack variant called Branch Target Reuse (BTR) can recover root password hashes from Intel computers running Linux in just a few minutes. A BTR attack exploits stale information in a processor’s branch predictor after a just-in-time (JIT) engine reuses memory for new code. By manipulating this leftover information, an attacker can […]
CISA alerts of active exploitation of three Linux kernel flaws
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning that hackers are exploiting three Linux kernel vulnerabilities, one of them rated critical. The three security issues were added separately last week and have severity ratings ranging from medium to critical. One of them, tracked as CVE-2025-39964, existed in the Linux kernel for 14 years. […]
New TONTOU CPU attack bypasses Spectre v2 fixes, leaks Linux password hashes
Successfully exploiting the issue requires overcoming several obstacles, including redirecting kernel control flow, precisely aligning interrupts with the post-neutralization window, and using the interrupt handler to poison the branch predictor entry associated with the target indirect branch. The researchers address these challenges through installing ‘timers’ to trigger hardware interrupts, frequent injection of interrupts, and via […]
Arch Linux disables AUR package adoption to stop malware flood
The Arch Linux project has temporarily disabled adoption of Arch User Repository (AUR) packages after a surge in malicious takeovers of existing packages. The decision was announced on the distribution’s mailing list by contributor Robin Candau, who said that the situation is temporary until a solution is found. “Due to the current influx of malicious […]
New RefluXFS Linux flaw lets attackers gain root privileges
A nine-year-old race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel’s XFS filesystem, tracked as CVE-2026-64600, allows local attackers to overwrite protected files and gain root privileges. Dubbed RefluXFS by the Qualys Threat Research Unit (TRU), which found and reported it, the security flaw affects systems with an XFS filesystem with reflink enabled (a default configuration on […]
OpenMandriva Linux says contributor tried to sabotage the project
The OpenMandriva Linux project announced that it was the target of an attempted act of internal sabotage after a dispute among contributors. The attempted destructive action extended from wiping GitHub repositories to pushing an empty package that could have damaged users’ systems. OpenMandriva is an independent, community-run Linux distribution, forked from Mandriva Linux in 2012 […]
New Januscape Linux flaw allows VM escape on Intel, AMD devices
A 16-year-old Linux kernel vulnerability, dubbed Januscape, allows attackers to escape a virtual machine and execute arbitrary code on the host. According to Hyunwoo Kim, the security researcher who discovered it, this guest-to-host escape flaw (tracked as CVE-2026-53359) stems from a use-after-free weakness in the shadow MMU emulation of KVM/x86, the kernel-based virtual machine built for x86 and […]
Kali Linux 2026.2 released with 9 new tools, NetHunter updates
Kali Linux 2026.2, the second release of the year, is now available for download, featuring 9 new tools and numerous Kali NetHunter improvements. The Kali Linux distro is designed for cybersecurity professionals and ethical hackers and comes with tools for security audits, penetration testing, and network research. Kali Linux is available as an installable operating […]
Over 400 Arch Linux packages compromised to push rootkit, infostealer
More than 400 packages in the Arch User Repository (AUR) are distributing a Linux rootkit and infostealer malware targeting credentials and access tokens. A report from the open-source intelligence community Independent Federated Intelligence Network (IFIN) notes that a new maintainer is spoofing a trusted publisher on the AUR platform to push infected packages. The Arch […]
Microsoft’s Coreutils project brings Linux commands to Windows
Microsoft announced today at its Build 2026 developer conference the release of Coreutils for Windows, bringing many commonly used Linux command-line utilities to Windows as native applications. The project is based on the open-source uutils project, a cross-platform rewrite of the GNU coreutils in Rust, and is designed to make it easier for developers to switch […]