CVE-2009-3238: Canonical Ubuntu Linux

Medium severity, CVSS 5.5. EPSS: 1.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

The get_random_int function in drivers/char/random.c in the Linux kernel before 2.6.30 produces insufficiently random numbers, which allows attackers to predict the return value, and possibly defeat protection mechanisms based on randomization, via vectors that leverage the function's tendency to "return the same value over and over again for long stretches of time."

Affected products

• Canonical Ubuntu Linux: version 6.06 only; version 8.04 only; version 8.10 only; version 9.04 only
• Linux Linux Kernel: before 2.6.30 (fixed in 2.6.30)
• Opensuse Opensuse: version 11.0 only
• Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop: version 10 only
• Suse Linux Enterprise Server: version 10 only

Published 2009-09-18. Last modified 2026-06-16.