ssh-keysign-pwn Lets Any Linux User Steal SSH Keys and Password Hashes Without Root
ssh-keysign-pwn is a newly disclosed Linux kernel vulnerability that gives any unprivileged local user direct access to the SSH host private keys of a server and every password hash stored on the system. It was reported on May 14, 2026, and a working exploit was on GitHub within hours of the patch landing.
The bug lives in a piece of kernel code called __ptrace_may_access(). This is the security check the kernel runs every time one program wants to look inside another program: reading its memory, accessing its open files. The kernel runs this check and asks: is this target process marked as safe to inspect, and does the caller have the right to do this? If either answer is no, access is denied. That is how it is supposed to work.









