Understanding the Evolving Landscape of Linux Kernel CVEs

You may have observed a significant increase in Linux kernel Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) reported, potentially impacting your security monitoring.

It’s crucial to understand that this surge is primarily due to a change in how CVEs are assigned — not an increase in the number of underlying security vulnerabilities with a real-world impact.

We want to provide clarity on why this is happening and reaffirm SUSE’s unwavering commitment to security and accurate assessment.

What Changed and Why the Increase?

As previously communicated, the Linux Foundation kernel community now assigns a CVE identifier to nearly every bug fix to enhance tracking. This procedural change has multiplied the number of kernel CVEs requiring assessment by more than tenfold — from hundreds to potentially over 4,000 annually.

As we remarked in the introduction, it’s important to understand that this means almost any change merged into a stable kernel now receives a CVE ID, often without rigorous upfront security categorization. Consequently, many assigned CVE IDs may relate to changes with no significant security impact. Therefore, customers should be aware that the rise of CVE numbers does not reflect an increase in actual security risk. However, without widespread vulnerability score pre-assessment, the sheer volume impacts the workflows of Linux providers, raises understandable customer concerns, and affects how organizations handle vulnerabilities.

Understanding CVEs, CVSS, and SUSE’s Commitment to Accuracy

CVE & CVSS:

• ➔ A CVE ID marks a reported bug; it doesn’t automatically mean there is an associated security risk.
• ➔ A Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) scores the severity of each CVE and therefore is needed to evaluate the associated risk.

The final CVSS score is product-specific and indicates potential severity, because its real-world impact depends heavily on how the kernel is used within the Linux distribution. In this case, SUSE Linux.

SUSE’s Recognized Assessment:

SUSE’s unique commitment to security is demonstrated by how our expert teams meticulously analyze each kernel CVE’s relevance and impact within the context of SUSE products.

Understanding the Evolving Landscape of Linux Kernel CVEs

We provide accurate, trusted CVSS scores based on this strict assessment. This level of diligence is publicly recognized by Linux kernel project leaders and contributes positively to the broader Linux ecosystem’s understanding of vulnerabilities and could be used as a reference point by other distributions.

Ultimately, SUSE’s rigorous, context-aware assessment ensures you can focus your efforts on genuine risks relevant to your environment.