CVE-2025-37814
CVE-2025-37814CVE-2025-37814
linux / linux_kernel
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tty: Require CAP_SYS_ADMIN for all usages of TIOCL_SELMOUSEREPORT
This requirement was overeagerly loosened in commit 2f83e38a095f
("tty: Permit some TIOCL_SETSEL modes without CAP_SYS_ADMIN"), but as
it turns out,
(1) the logic I implemented there was inconsistent (apologies!),
(2) TIOCL_SELMOUSEREPORT might actually be a small security risk
after all, and
(3) TIOCL_SELMOUSEREPORT is only meant to be used by the mouse
daemon (GPM or Consolation), which runs as CAP_SYS_ADMIN
already.
In more detail:
1. The previous patch has inconsistent logic:
In commit 2f83e38a095f ("tty: Permit some TIOCL_SETSEL modes
without CAP_SYS_ADMIN"), we checked for sel_mode ==
TIOCL_SELMOUSEREPORT, but overlooked that the lower four bits of
this "mode" parameter were actually used as an additional way to
pass an argument. So the patch did actually still require
CAP_SYS_ADMIN, if any of the
Scoring
| CVSS | 7.8 () |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Last modified | 2026-07-30 |