CVE-2015-8961 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

CVE-2015-8961 is rated Moderate Risk (60.4/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.00%). EPSS rose +1.90% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.10%	2.00%	+1.90%
2	2026-01-20	0.25%	0.10%	-0.15%
3	2025-03-30	—	0.25%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.10%

2.00%

+1.90%

2026-01-20

0.25%

0.10%

-0.15%

2025-03-30

—

0.25%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
9.3	2.0	HIGH	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:C) Complete confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:C) Complete integrity impact. Availability impact (A:C) Complete availability impact.	8.6	10.0	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

9.3

2.0

HIGH

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C): Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C): Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C): Complete availability impact.

8.6

10.0

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2015-8961

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2015-8961 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2015-8961
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-8961
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2015-8961 medium priority: Ubuntu including 27 source packages (linux, linux-armadaxp, …), 135 status rows across 5 suites (precise, trusty, upstream, xenial, yakkety): DNE 80, released 30, not-affected 18, ignored 7.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-8961

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2015-8961

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.10.85, < 3.12	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.12.46, < 3.12.52	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.14.49, < 3.14.59	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 3.18.20, < 3.18.54	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.1.4, < 4.1.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.2, < 4.2.8	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.3, < 4.3.3	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2015-8961

URL	Tags
http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=6934da9238da947628be83635e365df41064b09b	Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.3.3	Release Notes
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94135	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/6934da9238da947628be83635e365df41064b09b	Patch Vendor Advisory
https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2016-11-01.html	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2015-8961

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2015-8961

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2015-8961

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2015-8961

OS Trackers for CVE-2015-8961

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2015-8961

References for CVE-2015-8961