Zero-Day Chronomaly Exploit Grants Root Access to Vulnerable Linux Kernels

Zero-Day Chronomaly Exploit Grants Root Access to Vulnerable Linux Kernels describes how a publicly released exploit named “Chronomaly” targets the Linux kernel flaw CVE-2025-38352, a high-severity Elevation of Privilege bug with a CVSS of 7.4. The vulnerability is a race condition in the kernel’s POSIX CPU timers that disrupts the task cleanup process, enabling memory corruption and potentially leading to crashes, denial of service, and privilege escalation.

The exploit, written by researcher farazsth98, is reported to target Linux kernel v5.10.157 but is said to be portable enough to work against all vulnerable v5.10.x kernels because it does not rely on specific memory offsets. According to the article, Google’s advisory confirms the flaw was detected in zero-day attacks, with indications that limited, targeted exploitation may be underway.

The September 2025 update raised the patch level to 2025-09-05, addressing this zero-day along with dozens of other bugs, and users are urged to check for updates immediately.