Malware running in kernel mode has free access to everything. If it can inject itself in a driver chain, all data that flows trough there is accessible.
But implying Linux was the enabling cause of the Ashley Madison hack is pure FUD. Nothing definite about the breach point has been released, AFAIK, but if the perps are to be believed, the root account password on all servers was Pass1234. With friends like that, you do not need kernel vulnerabilities :-/
But implying Linux was the enabling cause of the Ashley Madison hack is pure FUD. Nothing definite about the breach point has been released, AFAIK, but if the perps are to be believed, the root account password on all servers was Pass1234. With friends like that, you do not need kernel vulnerabilities :-/