[linux.git] / Documentation / admin-guide / security-bugs.rst

.. _securitybugs:

Security bugs
=============

Linux kernel developers take security very seriously.  As such, we'd
like to know when a security bug is found so that it can be fixed and
disclosed as quickly as possible.  Please report security bugs to the
Linux kernel security team.

Contact
-------

The Linux kernel security team can be contacted by email at
<[email protected]>.  This is a private list of security officers
who will help verify the bug report and develop and release a fix.
If you already have a fix, please include it with your report, as
that can speed up the process considerably.  It is possible that the
security team will bring in extra help from area maintainers to
understand and fix the security vulnerability.

As it is with any bug, the more information provided the easier it
will be to diagnose and fix.  Please review the procedure outlined in
admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst if you are unclear about what
information is helpful.  Any exploit code is very helpful and will not
be released without consent from the reporter unless it has already been
made public.

Disclosure and embargoed information
------------------------------------

The security list is not a disclosure channel.  For that, see Coordination
below.

Once a robust fix has been developed, the release process starts.  Fixes
for publicly known bugs are released immediately.

Although our preference is to release fixes for publicly undisclosed bugs
as soon as they become available, this may be postponed at the request of
the reporter or an affected party for up to 7 calendar days from the start
of the release process, with an exceptional extension to 14 calendar days
if it is agreed that the criticality of the bug requires more time.  The
only valid reason for deferring the publication of a fix is to accommodate
the logistics of QA and large scale rollouts which require release
coordination.

Whilst embargoed information may be shared with trusted individuals in
order to develop a fix, such information will not be published alongside
the fix or on any other disclosure channel without the permission of the
reporter.  This includes but is not limited to the original bug report
and followup discussions (if any), exploits, CVE information or the
identity of the reporter.

In other words our only interest is in getting bugs fixed.  All other
information submitted to the security list and any followup discussions
of the report are treated confidentially even after the embargo has been
lifted, in perpetuity.

Coordination
------------

Fixes for sensitive bugs, such as those that might lead to privilege
escalations, may need to be coordinated with the private
<[email protected]> mailing list so that distribution vendors
are well prepared to issue a fixed kernel upon public disclosure of the
upstream fix. Distros will need some time to test the proposed patch and
will generally request at least a few days of embargo, and vendor update
publication prefers to happen Tuesday through Thursday. When appropriate,
the security team can assist with this coordination, or the reporter can
include linux-distros from the start. In this case, remember to prefix
the email Subject line with "[vs]" as described in the linux-distros wiki:
<http://oss-security.openwall.org/wiki/mailing-lists/distros#how-to-use-the-lists>

CVE assignment
--------------

The security team does not normally assign CVEs, nor do we require them
for reports or fixes, as this can needlessly complicate the process and
may delay the bug handling. If a reporter wishes to have a CVE identifier
assigned ahead of public disclosure, they will need to contact the private
linux-distros list, described above. When such a CVE identifier is known
before a patch is provided, it is desirable to mention it in the commit
message if the reporter agrees.

Non-disclosure agreements
-------------------------

The Linux kernel security team is not a formal body and therefore unable
to enter any non-disclosure agreements.
Commit	Line	Data
609d99a3 MCC	1	.. _securitybugs:
609d99a3 MCC	2
1d7078d4 MCC	3	Security bugs
	4	=============
	5
1da177e4 LT	6	Linux kernel developers take security very seriously. As such, we'd
	7	like to know when a security bug is found so that it can be fixed and
	8	disclosed as quickly as possible. Please report security bugs to the
	9	Linux kernel security team.
	10
9d85025b MCC	11	Contact
9d85025b MCC	12	-------
1da177e4 LT	13
	14	The Linux kernel security team can be contacted by email at
	15	<[email protected]>. This is a private list of security officers
	16	who will help verify the bug report and develop and release a fix.
49978be7 KC	17	If you already have a fix, please include it with your report, as
	18	that can speed up the process considerably. It is possible that the
	19	security team will bring in extra help from area maintainers to
	20	understand and fix the security vulnerability.
1da177e4 LT	21
	22	As it is with any bug, the more information provided the easier it
	23	will be to diagnose and fix. Please review the procedure outlined in
49978be7 KC	24	admin-guide/reporting-bugs.rst if you are unclear about what
	25	information is helpful. Any exploit code is very helpful and will not
	26	be released without consent from the reporter unless it has already been
	27	made public.
1da177e4	28
14fdc2c5 WD	29	Disclosure and embargoed information
	30	------------------------------------
	31
	32	The security list is not a disclosure channel. For that, see Coordination
	33	below.
	34
544b03da WD	35	Once a robust fix has been developed, the release process starts. Fixes
	36	for publicly known bugs are released immediately.
	37
	38	Although our preference is to release fixes for publicly undisclosed bugs
	39	as soon as they become available, this may be postponed at the request of
	40	the reporter or an affected party for up to 7 calendar days from the start
	41	of the release process, with an exceptional extension to 14 calendar days
	42	if it is agreed that the criticality of the bug requires more time. The
	43	only valid reason for deferring the publication of a fix is to accommodate
	44	the logistics of QA and large scale rollouts which require release
	45	coordination.
14fdc2c5 WD	46
	47	Whilst embargoed information may be shared with trusted individuals in
	48	order to develop a fix, such information will not be published alongside
	49	the fix or on any other disclosure channel without the permission of the
	50	reporter. This includes but is not limited to the original bug report
	51	and followup discussions (if any), exploits, CVE information or the
	52	identity of the reporter.
	53
	54	In other words our only interest is in getting bugs fixed. All other
	55	information submitted to the security list and any followup discussions
	56	of the report are treated confidentially even after the embargo has been
	57	lifted, in perpetuity.
1da177e4	58
49978be7 KC	59	Coordination
	60	------------
	61
	62	Fixes for sensitive bugs, such as those that might lead to privilege
	63	escalations, may need to be coordinated with the private
	64	<[email protected]> mailing list so that distribution vendors
	65	are well prepared to issue a fixed kernel upon public disclosure of the
	66	upstream fix. Distros will need some time to test the proposed patch and
	67	will generally request at least a few days of embargo, and vendor update
	68	publication prefers to happen Tuesday through Thursday. When appropriate,
	69	the security team can assist with this coordination, or the reporter can
	70	include linux-distros from the start. In this case, remember to prefix
	71	the email Subject line with "[vs]" as described in the linux-distros wiki:
	72	<http://oss-security.openwall.org/wiki/mailing-lists/distros#how-to-use-the-lists>
	73
	74	CVE assignment
	75	--------------
	76
	77	The security team does not normally assign CVEs, nor do we require them
	78	for reports or fixes, as this can needlessly complicate the process and
	79	may delay the bug handling. If a reporter wishes to have a CVE identifier
	80	assigned ahead of public disclosure, they will need to contact the private
	81	linux-distros list, described above. When such a CVE identifier is known
	82	before a patch is provided, it is desirable to mention it in the commit
14fdc2c5	83	message if the reporter agrees.
49978be7	84
9d85025b MCC	85	Non-disclosure agreements
9d85025b MCC	86	-------------------------
1da177e4 LT	87
	88	The Linux kernel security team is not a formal body and therefore unable
	89	to enter any non-disclosure agreements.