Daily Tech News 8 May 2026

Top Story

• There's a local privilege escalation bug that affects all recent versions of Linux. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  No, not that one, another one. It abuses bugs in three optional kernel modules to give any local user root access.
  
  Good news: It's relatively easy to prevent.
  
  Bad news: It's already out in the wild even though none of the Linux distributions has had a chance to patch it yet. There's a script available that prevents the affected kernel modules from loading that blocks the exploit. Run it once and you're good - unless you depend on one of those modules and you have untrusted local users, in which case you're... Not good.
  
  
  
• Also, there's a CPanel exploit making lives miserable, with a patch planned for 12pm EST.
  
  Again, not that one, another one.
  
  At least this one hasn't leaked yet.

Tech News

• Motherboard sales are down by 28% because nobody an afford the memory to build a new PC. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Because they listened to people telling everyone not to panic-buy memory.
  
  I didn't listen.
  
  Now I need to buy a couple or three motherboards for the RAM I already have, and they're cheap and readily available.
  
  
  
• A judge has rule that Nvidia's book piracy software was designed to pirate books. (Tom's Hardware)
  
  Like other AI companies, Nvidia downloaded huge numbers of books to feed its ever-hungry models, and now is on the hook for industrial-scale copyright infringement.
  
  
  
• Never click on anything. (The Register)
  
  Is the response from Anthropic to the discovery of a one-click exploit if you download untrusted software into Claude Code.
  
  The same bug affects programming tools from Google, Microsoft, and Cursor, so they're not the only idiots in the room.
  
  
  
• You stack DRAM when it's DRAM stacking time. (WCCFTech)
  
  Today's contestants are Samsung and SK Hynix, two of the Big Three.
  
  
  
• The StarFighter Linux laptop has finally launched. (Liliputing)
  
  I think I reported on this previously. It has a choice of 2560x1600 165Hz or 3840x2400 240Hz 16" displays, Intel or AMD CPUs, up to 64GB of (apparently soldered) RAM, two M.2 slots, two Thunderbolt ports, three regular USB ports, HDMI, microSD, and an audio jack.
  
  Plus a removable webcam module - if you're concerned about privacy, you can unplug it and stick in a drawer, or in a little slot within the laptop where it can't do anything.
  
  And the Four Essential Keys.
  
  Price has unfortunately been hit hard by the memory shortage and ranges from $1900 to $3600 depending on configuration.
  
  
  
• In maybe good news, Anthropic has signed a deal with SpaceX (which owns xAI, which owns X) to use the spare capacity in the latter company's datacenter in Memphis, which is, apparently, somehow, all of it. (Ars Technica)
  
  Why good news?
  
  Usage limits on Claude Code (which I use daily for code reviews) have been doubled at no extra cost.