Two different Linux security issues sit behind the urgent update warning: a 2025 PAM/libblockdev/udisks privilege-escalation chain and a separate 2026 Linux-kernel flaw called Copy Fail (CVE-2026-31431). Both can let a local low-privilege user reach root on affected systems; neither is described here as a remote, no-account attack. Check your distribution’s current security advisories and install the fixes that apply to your exact release and packages.
Which Linux distributions are affected?
The answer depends on which vulnerability you mean. The 2025 issue involves user-space storage-management components and, in some SUSE configurations, PAM. Copy Fail is a separate kernel issue. A distribution name alone does not establish that a particular installation is vulnerable: package versions, release, and vendor fixes matter.
| Issue | Components | Reported distribution scope | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-6018 and CVE-2025-6019 | PAM configuration and libblockdev, reached through udisks | The chain was demonstrated on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE Leap 15. The PAM issue was reported on openSUSE Leap 15 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15. | Check your release’s vendor advisories for both CVEs and for fixes to PAM, libblockdev, and udisks where applicable. The GitHub Advisory Database rates CVE-2025-6019 CVSS 7.0; that score is not a measure of how many systems are affected. |
| CVE-2026-31431, “Copy Fail” | Linux kernel AF_ALG cryptographic interface | Microsoft describes the issue as affecting Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, and AWS Linux. | Check the vendor notice for your exact distribution release and kernel package. Fixed builds are vendor-specific. |
These lists describe reported scope, not a guarantee that every release or installation is vulnerable. The information available here does not establish the number of affected hosts or the present patch status of any individual system.
Can either issue give an attacker root?
Yes, on a vulnerable system and when its access prerequisites are met. Root is Linux’s all-powerful administrative account; successful privilege escalation can let an attacker take full control of the machine.
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The 2025 PAM and storage-management chain
udisks helps software manage storage devices, and a vulnerable libblockdev path can be abused by a user with the necessary local authorization state to escalate to root. CVE-2025-6018 concerns PAM configuration reported on openSUSE Leap 15 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15; in the reported chain, that configuration can make it easier to obtain an active authorization context. The issues should be checked separately in vendor advisories rather than assumed to affect every system using udisks.
Copy Fail in the kernel
Copy Fail is a flaw in the kernel’s AF_ALG interface. Microsoft says a low-privilege local user can use it to escalate to root. It is not the same vulnerability as the 2025 PAM/libblockdev chain, so updating one component does not fix the other.
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Is this remotely exploitable, or does the attacker need local access?
The attack paths described for both issues require local access: an attacker needs a local account or the relevant active local authorization context. The reports do not describe either issue as a direct remote attack that requires no local foothold. That distinction lowers one route of exposure, but it does not make an unpatched shared workstation or server safe if an attacker can already log in or run code as a local user.
For the 2025 chain, review who can log in locally and which sessions can receive active authorization. Limit unnecessary local accounts and investigate unexpected accounts or sessions. These checks reduce opportunities to reach the prerequisite; they do not replace the package updates.
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What should Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, SUSE, and other administrators do?
- Identify the exact system. Record the distribution, release, architecture, and installed package versions. Do not infer exposure from the distribution’s name alone.
- Check the vendor’s security advisories. Search for CVE-2025-6018 and CVE-2025-6019 if the system uses the relevant PAM, libblockdev, or udisks packages. Search for CVE-2026-31431 for the kernel. Vendor advisories are authoritative for affected and fixed package versions.
- Install all applicable fixes. Update PAM, libblockdev, and udisks where the vendor directs for the 2025 issue, and install the fixed kernel package for Copy Fail. Package names, fixed versions, and update commands vary by distribution and release, so use the vendor’s documented instructions.
- Load the fixed kernel. Reboot if the distribution requires it to start the updated kernel. Confirm afterward that the running kernel is the fixed build, rather than assuming that installing a package changed the kernel already in use.
- Use the temporary AF_ALG mitigation only as directed. Microsoft’s stated guidance for Copy Fail is to patch or update distribution kernel packages, or block AF_ALG socket creation. Apply that mitigation only if your vendor documents it as suitable for your system while patching is pending; it is not a substitute for installing the vendor update.
- Review local access. Audit local accounts and active authorization exposure, particularly on shared systems, and remove access that is not needed.
How the two issues differ
| Comparison | 2025 PAM/libblockdev chain | 2026 Copy Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Vulnerable area | PAM configuration and libblockdev accessed through udisks | Kernel AF_ALG interface |
| Access prerequisite | Local access and the required authorization state; the reported PAM configuration can make that state easier to obtain on affected SUSE systems | Low-privilege local access, according to Microsoft |
| Reported distribution scope | Demonstrated on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE Leap 15; the PAM issue was reported on openSUSE Leap 15 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 | Microsoft names Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, and AWS Linux |
| Fix to check | Vendor-directed PAM, libblockdev, and udisks updates as applicable | Vendor-fixed kernel package |
| Reboot requirement | Not stated generally; follow the distribution’s advisory | Depends on the vendor’s kernel update and instructions |
| Temporary mitigation | No general mitigation established here; follow vendor guidance | Microsoft names blocking AF_ALG socket creation as an option while patching, subject to vendor guidance |
Why an “update now” warning still needs a vendor check
“Major Linux distros” does not mean every release of every named distribution is vulnerable, and the two CVEs do not describe one shared flaw. The 2025 chain and 2026 kernel issue have different components, package fixes, and distribution coverage. Because exact vulnerable builds and fixed versions are vendor-specific, a generic instruction to upgrade Linux is not enough: match each CVE to your release’s advisory and verify the installed packages and running kernel against it.
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