A recent study by Linux developer Jenny Guanni Qu has uncovered alarming findings about bugs in the Linux kernel. The investigation, which analyzed 125,000 bug-fix commits over two decades, found that certain vulnerabilities can remain undetected for over 20 years. The average lifespan for a bug is around two years, but many can persist for five years or longer without being noticed.
One significant case highlighted was a networking bug introduced in 2006, which wasn’t fixed until 2025. This bug didn’t directly cause crashes; instead, it subtly leaked memory under certain conditions, making systems appear stable even as they slowly degraded under load. Ironically, the code that established this bug was supposed to resolve another issue.
The difficulty in detecting these long-lived bugs stems from various factors. Areas of the Linux kernel that date back to the early 2000s often go unchanged and attract fewer reviewers, leading to vulnerabilities that hide in plain sight. Additionally, many developers may opt for partial fixes that address immediate symptoms rather than the root causes, leaving latent issues unpatchable.
Despite the open-source nature of Linux—which allows for broad scrutiny of its code—the kernel still carries a significant number of long-standing flaws. Attackers often exploit these older vulnerabilities, especially since they share upstream code across distributions, giving them access to a wide array of systems. By the time a flaw is assigned a CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) number, it is possible that attackers have already been exploiting it for some time.
To help address this issue, Guanni Qu has developed a machine-learning model called VulnBERT. This tool scans changes to the kernel code rather than running systems directly and can identify over 90% of commits that introduce vulnerabilities while minimizing false positives. Although it doesn’t replace the need for human review, it serves as a powerful triage tool for developers.
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For more information on Linux kernel bugs, you can read the original research here.
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