release v0.9.7: kernel_range drift fix + CI Node 24 readiness

Tags the maintenance work landed since v0.9.6. The fragnesia drift fix (35c33df) and checkout v4->v6 bump (6c148e2) are already on main; this commit adds the remaining CI Node-24 bumps + version strings.

release.yml: upload-artifact v4->v7, download-artifact v4->v8, softprops/action-gh-release v2->v3 (last of the Node-20-era actions; GitHub forces node24 on 2026-06-16). Reviewed each changelog — our default-zip/unique-name upload + full-set download is unaffected by the major-version breaking changes (opt-in direct uploads, download-by-ID path).

Version bumped to 0.9.7 (skeletonkey.c, README, docs/index.html) + v0.9.7 RELEASE_NOTES entry. Tagging this commit fires release.yml — the end-to-end test of the new artifact actions, incl. the Alpine/musl static job under node24.

.github/workflows/build.yml

@@ -10,6 +10,10 @@ on:
     # Runs Monday 06:00 UTC; reports any new backports / KEV additions
     # that haven't propagated into the corpus yet.
     - cron: '0 6 * * 1'
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    # Lets us trigger the drift-check job on demand (e.g. after a
+    # metadata refresh) without waiting for the weekly cron. The
+    # drift-check job's `if:` gate honors this trigger.
 
 jobs:
   build:
@@ -21,7 +25,7 @@ jobs:
         flavor: [default, debug]
     name: build (${{ matrix.cc }} / ${{ matrix.flavor }})
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: install build deps
         run: |
@@ -80,7 +84,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: sanitizers (ASan + UBSan)
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: install deps
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update -qq
@@ -111,7 +115,7 @@ jobs:
     name: clang-tidy
     continue-on-error: true
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: install deps
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update -qq
@@ -137,7 +141,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: drift-check (CISA KEV + Debian tracker)
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: cve_metadata drift
         run: |
           # Exits 1 if the federal data has drifted from our committed
@@ -164,7 +168,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: static-build
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: install build deps
         run: |
           sudo apt-get update -qq

.github/workflows/release.yml

@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ jobs:
     name: build (${{ matrix.target }})
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
       - name: install build deps
         run: |
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ jobs:
           mv skeletonkey skeletonkey-${{ matrix.target }}
           sha256sum skeletonkey-${{ matrix.target }} > skeletonkey-${{ matrix.target }}.sha256
 
-      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: skeletonkey-${{ matrix.target }}
           path: |
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ jobs:
     container:
       image: alpine:latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: install build deps
         run: apk add --no-cache build-base linux-headers tar
       - name: build static (musl)
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           mv skeletonkey skeletonkey-x86_64-static
           sha256sum skeletonkey-x86_64-static > skeletonkey-x86_64-static.sha256
-      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: skeletonkey-x86_64-static
           path: |
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     name: build (arm64-static / musl)
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
       - name: run dockcross arm64-musl build
         run: |
           # Fetch the dockcross wrapper script (handles UID/GID,
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           mv skeletonkey skeletonkey-arm64-static
           sha256sum skeletonkey-arm64-static > skeletonkey-arm64-static.sha256
-      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7
         with:
           name: skeletonkey-arm64-static
           path: |
@@ -141,9 +141,9 @@ jobs:
     needs: [build, build-static-x86_64, build-static-arm64]
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
 
-      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v4
+      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v8
         with:
           path: dist
 
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ jobs:
           fi
 
       - name: publish release
-        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v2
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v3
         with:
           tag_name: ${{ steps.notes.outputs.tag }}
           name: SKELETONKEY ${{ steps.notes.outputs.tag }}

README.md

@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ also compile (modules with Linux-only headers stub out gracefully).
 
 ## Status
 
-**v0.9.4 cut 2026-05-28.** 39 modules across 34 CVEs — **every
+**v0.9.7 cut 2026-06-01.** 39 modules across 34 CVEs — **every
 year 2016 → 2026 now covered**. v0.9.0 added 5 gap-fillers
 (`mutagen_astronomy` / `sudo_runas_neg1` / `tioscpgrp` / `vsock_uaf` /
 `nft_pipapo`); v0.8.0 added 3 (`sudo_chwoot` / `udisks_libblockdev` /

docs/RELEASE_NOTES.md

@@ -1,3 +1,93 @@
+## SKELETONKEY v0.9.7 — kernel_range drift fix + CI Node 24 readiness
+
+Two maintenance fixes, no new modules.
+
+**`fragnesia` kernel_range drift.** Debian backported CVE-2026-46300 to
+the 5.10 oldstable branch (bullseye 5.10.257), a branch the module's
+`kernel_patched_from` table didn't model — on a patched bullseye host
+`detect()` would have false-positived VULNERABLE. Added the `{5,10,257}`
+entry; the weekly `refresh-kernel-ranges.py` drift gate is green again.
+(The other flagged modules are INFO-only "more permissive" thresholds
+the check tolerates by design.)
+
+**CI Node 24 readiness.** GitHub forces the Node 24 Actions runtime on
+2026-06-16 and removes Node 20. Bumped every workflow action off its
+Node-20 line:
+
+- `actions/checkout` v4 → v6
+- `actions/upload-artifact` v4 → v7
+- `actions/download-artifact` v4 → v8
+- `softprops/action-gh-release` v2 → v3
+
+Each was reviewed against its changelog: the artifact flow uploads
+default-zipped, uniquely-named artifacts and downloads the full set, so
+none of the major-version breaking changes (opt-in direct uploads,
+download-by-ID path changes) apply. This release is itself the
+end-to-end test of the new artifact actions.
+
+## SKELETONKEY v0.9.6 — `--auto` no longer prompts for sudo password
+
+Two sudo modules' `detect()` bodies invoked `sudo -ln` to read the
+user's allowed-commands list. The intent was non-interactive — `-ln`
+should parse as `-l -n` (list + non-interactive). But some sudoers /
+PAM configurations have been observed prompting for a password
+anyway when the flags are bundled, defeating the point.
+
+That meant `skeletonkey --auto --i-know` could hang on a sudo
+password prompt during the corpus scan, even though the whole point
+of an LPE tool is to *get* root without already having it.
+
+Fix in `sudo_runas_neg1` and `sudoedit_editor`:
+
+- `-n -l` written as separate flags (instead of bundled `-ln`)
+- `</dev/null` redirect so sudo cannot fall back to reading the tty
+  even if the PAM stack tries
+
+Belt-and-suspenders. `--auto` is now guaranteed never to block on
+tty input.
+
+---
+
+## SKELETONKEY v0.9.5 — kernel_range drift cleanup (the other half)
+
+v0.9.4 fixed the `cve_metadata` drift but exposed a *second* drift
+check (`kernel_range drift`) that had been hidden behind it. That
+check compares each module's `kernel_patched_from` table against
+Debian's security tracker. It had **11 TOO_TIGHT + 8 MISSING
+findings across 12 modules** — meaning `detect()` would have
+reported VULNERABLE on many kernels that Debian has on record as
+patched (false-positives), or missed branches entirely.
+
+Applied `tools/refresh-kernel-ranges.py --patch` recommendations
+across:
+
+- `cgroup_release_agent` — `{5,16,9}` → `{5,16,7}`
+- `cls_route4` — `{5,10,143}` → `{5,10,136}`, `{5,18,18}` → `{5,18,16}`
+- `dirty_cow` — `{4,7,10}` → `{4,7,8}`
+- `dirty_pipe` — `{5,10,102}` → `{5,10,92}`
+- `fragnesia` — `{6,12,91}` → `{6,12,90}`, `{7,0,10}` → `{7,0,9}`
+  (the 7.0.10 entry I added in v0.9.4 was an NVD-vs-Debian off-by-one)
+- `mutagen_astronomy` — added `{4,12,6}` backport entry
+- `netfilter_xtcompat` — `{5,10,46}` → `{5,10,38}`
+- `overlayfs_setuid` — `{6,1,27}` → `{6,1,11}`
+- `pintheft` — added `{6,12,90}` Debian-trixie entry
+- `ptrace_traceme` — `{4,19,58}` → `{4,19,37}`
+- `sequoia` — `{5,10,52}` → `{5,10,46}`
+- `tioscpgrp` — added `{5,9,15}` backport entry
+
+All changes are correctness-improving (no kernel that was previously
+flagged VULNERABLE-and-actually-vulnerable is now flagged OK; we just
+stop false-positiving on kernels that Debian has on record as patched).
+
+Build's `kernel_range drift` step now exits 0 with 0 TOO_TIGHT and 0
+MISSING.
+
+Also enabled `workflow_dispatch` on the build workflow so the
+drift-check job can be manually triggered without waiting for the
+weekly Monday-06:00-UTC cron.
+
+---
+
 ## SKELETONKEY v0.9.4 — drift unblock, fragnesia range fix, infra docs
 
 Quality-of-life follow-ups from the v0.9.3 review:

docs/index.html

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
   <div class="container hero-inner">
     <div class="hero-eyebrow">
       <span class="dot dot-pulse"></span>
-      v0.9.4 — released 2026-05-28
+      v0.9.7 — released 2026-06-01
     </div>
     <h1 class="hero-title">
       <span class="display-wordmark">SKELETONKEY</span>
@@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ uid=0(root) gid=0(root)</pre>
       who found the bugs.
     </p>
     <p class="footer-meta">
-      v0.9.4 · MIT · <a href="https://github.com/KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY">github.com/KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY</a>
+      v0.9.7 · MIT · <a href="https://github.com/KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY">github.com/KaraZajac/SKELETONKEY</a>
     </p>
   </div>
 </footer>

modules/cgroup_release_agent_cve_2022_0492/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ static const struct kernel_patched_from cgroup_ra_patched_branches[] = {
     {5,  4, 179},
     {5, 10, 100},
     {5, 15,  23},
-    {5, 16,   9},
+    {5, 16,   7},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 5.16.9 in stable */
     {5, 17,   0},   /* mainline */
 };
 

modules/cls_route4_cve_2022_2588/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -69,9 +69,9 @@
 
 static const struct kernel_patched_from cls_route4_patched_branches[] = {
     {5,  4, 213},
-    {5, 10, 143},
+    {5, 10, 136},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 5.10.143 */
     {5, 15,  69},
-    {5, 18,  18},
+    {5, 18,  16},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 5.18.18 */
     {5, 19,   7},
     {5, 20,   0},   /* mainline */
 };

modules/dirty_cow_cve_2016_5195/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ static const struct kernel_patched_from dirty_cow_patched_branches[] = {
     {3, 16,  38},
     {3, 18,  43},
     {4,  4,  26},   /* Ubuntu 16.04 baseline */
-    {4,  7,  10},
+    {4,  7,   8},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 4.7.10 */
     {4,  8,   3},
     {4,  9,   0},   /* mainline fix */
 };

modules/dirty_pipe_cve_2022_0847/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ static void revert_passwd_page_cache(void)
  *  - mainline (≥ 5.17) is patched
  */
 static const struct kernel_patched_from dirty_pipe_patched_branches[] = {
-    {5, 10, 102},  /* 5.10.x backport */
+    {5, 10,  92},  /* 5.10.x backport (Debian tracker: earlier than 5.10.102) */
     {5, 15,  25},  /* 5.15.x backport */
     {5, 16,  11},  /* 5.16.x backport (mainline fix lived here briefly) */
     {5, 17,   0},  /* mainline fix lands; everything from here is fine */

modules/fragnesia_cve_2026_46300/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -916,12 +916,13 @@ static int fg_active_probe(void)
  *   7.1-rcN:   still vulnerable (rc1..rc4 at time of writing)
  */
 static const struct kernel_patched_from fragnesia_patched_branches[] = {
+	{5, 10, 257}, /* 5.10-LTS backport (Debian bullseye ships .257 with fix) */
 	{5, 15, 208}, /* 5.15-LTS backport */
 	{6,  1, 174}, /* 6.1-LTS backport */
 	{6,  6, 141}, /* 6.6-LTS backport */
-	{6, 12,  91}, /* 6.12-LTS backport */
+	{6, 12,  90}, /* 6.12-LTS backport (Debian trixie ships .90 with fix) */
 	{6, 18,  33}, /* 6.18-LTS backport */
-	{7,  0,  10}, /* 7.0 stable: fix lands at 7.0.10 */
+	{7,  0,   9}, /* 7.0 stable (Debian forky/sid ship .9 with backported fix) */
 };
 static const struct kernel_range fragnesia_range = {
 	.patched_from = fragnesia_patched_branches,

modules/mutagen_astronomy_cve_2018_14634/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@
  * VULNERABLE by version-only check; the RLIMIT_STACK active probe
  * (--active) is required to confirm exploitability on a real host. */
 static const struct kernel_patched_from mutagen_patched_branches[] = {
+    {4, 12,  6},   /* Debian-tracked backport on 4.12 branch */
     {4, 14, 71},   /* 4.14 LTS stable backport */
     {4, 18,  8},   /* mainline + everything above inherits */
 };

modules/netfilter_xtcompat_cve_2021_22555/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ static const struct kernel_patched_from netfilter_xtcompat_patched_branches[] =
     {4, 14, 240},
     {4, 19, 198},
     {5,  4, 128},
-    {5, 10,  46},
+    {5, 10,  38},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 5.10.46 */
     {5, 11,  20},
     {5, 12,  13},
     {5, 13,   0},   /* mainline (5.13 carries b29c457a6511) */

modules/overlayfs_setuid_cve_2023_0386/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
 static const struct kernel_patched_from overlayfs_setuid_patched_branches[] = {
     {5, 10, 179},   /* 5.10.x stable backport (per Debian tracker — bullseye) */
     {5, 15, 110},
-    {6,  1,  27},
+    {6,  1,  11},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 6.1.27 */
     {6,  2,  13},
     {6,  3,   0},   /* mainline */
 };

modules/pintheft_cve_2026_43494/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@
  * patch (likely 6.16 once the post-rc release tags). Conservatively
  * placeholding at {7, 0, 0} until that lands. */
 static const struct kernel_patched_from pintheft_patched_branches[] = {
+    {6, 12, 90}, /* Debian trixie ships 6.12.90 with the fix backported */
     {7, 0, 0},   /* mainline fix commit 0cebaccef3ac; tag will be 6.16 or 7.0
                     depending on when 6.15 closes — refresh when known */
 };

modules/ptrace_traceme_cve_2019_13272/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ static const struct kernel_patched_from ptrace_traceme_patched_branches[] = {
     {4,  4, 182},
     {4,  9, 182},
     {4, 14, 131},
-    {4, 19,  58},
+    {4, 19,  37},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 4.19.58 */
     {5,  0,  20},
     {5,  1,  17},
     {5,  2,   0},   /* mainline (5.2-rc) */

modules/sequoia_cve_2021_33909/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@
 
 static const struct kernel_patched_from sequoia_patched_branches[] = {
     {5,  4, 134},
-    {5, 10,  52},
+    {5, 10,  46},   /* Debian tracker: earlier than 5.10.52 */
     {5, 13,   4},
     {5, 14,   0},   /* mainline */
 };

modules/sudo_runas_neg1_cve_2019_14287/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -106,7 +106,9 @@ static bool get_sudo_version(const char *sudo_path, char *out, size_t outsz)
 static bool find_runas_blacklist_grant(const char *sudo_path, char *cmd_out, size_t cap)
 {
     char cmd[512];
-    snprintf(cmd, sizeof cmd, "%s -ln 2>/dev/null", sudo_path);
+    /* -n -l separated + stdin closed: see sudoedit_editor for the same
+     * pattern + rationale. `--auto` must never block on a tty prompt. */
+    snprintf(cmd, sizeof cmd, "%s -n -l </dev/null 2>/dev/null", sudo_path);
     FILE *p = popen(cmd, "r");
     if (!p) return false;
     char line[512];

modules/sudoedit_editor_cve_2023_22809/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -149,8 +149,13 @@ static bool get_sudo_version(const char *sudo_path, char *out, size_t outsz)
 static bool find_sudoedit_target(const char *sudo_path, char *out, size_t outsz)
 {
     char cmd[512];
-    /* -n: non-interactive (no password prompt); -l: list. */
+    /* -n: non-interactive (no password prompt); -l: list. The two flags
-    snprintf(cmd, sizeof cmd, "%s -ln 2>&1", sudo_path);
+     * are written separately and stdin is redirected from /dev/null so
+     * sudo cannot fall back to a tty prompt even if the local PAM stack
+     * tries to coerce one (some sudoers + pam_unix configurations have
+     * been observed prompting despite `-n` when the flags are bundled
+     * as `-ln`). Belt-and-suspenders so `--auto` never blocks on input. */
+    snprintf(cmd, sizeof cmd, "%s -n -l </dev/null 2>&1", sudo_path);
     FILE *p = popen(cmd, "r");
     if (!p) return false;
 

modules/tioscpgrp_cve_2020_29661/skeletonkey_modules.c

@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ static const struct kernel_patched_from tioscpgrp_patched_branches[] = {
     {4, 14, 213},   /* 4.14 LTS */
     {4, 19, 165},   /* 4.19 LTS */
     {5,  4,  85},   /* 5.4 LTS */
+    {5,  9,  15},   /* Debian-tracked 5.9 backport */
     {5, 10,   0},   /* mainline fix in 5.10 */
 };
 

skeletonkey.c

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 #include <string.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
-#define SKELETONKEY_VERSION "0.9.4"
+#define SKELETONKEY_VERSION "0.9.7"
 
 static const char BANNER[] =
 "\n"