# CVE-2007-4573: The Anatomy of a Kernel Exploit

DevFeed: [CVE-2007-4573: The Anatomy of a Kernel Exploit](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/cve-2007-4573-the-anatomy-of-a-kernel-exploit-21897.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.nelhage.com/2010/02/cve-2007-4573-the-anatomy-of-a-kernel-exploit/>)

Author: Nelson Elhage

Published: 2010-02-05T23:32:31Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Nelson Elhage](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/nelson-elhage.md>)

Topics: [Exploit](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/exploit.md>), [Kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kernel.md>), [Linux](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/linux.md>), [x86](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/x86.md>), [Assembly](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/assembly.md>), [C](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/c.md>)

Tags: [assembly](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/assembly.md>), [c](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/c.md>), [cve](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cve.md>), [exploit](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/exploit.md>), [kernel](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kernel.md>), [linux](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/linux.md>), [vulnerabilities](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vulnerabilities.md>), [x86](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/x86.md>)

## AI overview

This tutorial explains the anatomy of the CVE-2007-4573 local privilege-escalation vulnerability in Linux kernels prior to v2.6.22.7. It introduces the relevant patch, x86_64 compatibility-mode system calls, and the exploit's underlying mechanics.

## Source excerpt

CVE-2007-4573 is two years old at this point, but it remains one of my favorite vulnerabilities. It was a local privilege-escalation vulnerability on all x86_64 kernels prior to v2.6.22.7. It's very simple to understand with a little bit of background, and the exploit is super-simple, but it's still more interesting than Yet Another NULL Pointer Dereference. Plus, it was the first kernel bug I wrote an exploit for, which was fun.