There is a bug going around and it may cause you a headache, but it has nothing to do with your health. It affects Linux servers and the implementation of the glibc library. If not patched right away, exploitation of this could lead to someone getting remote access to a server and then to your entire network.
This stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability was discovered in mid-2015 and given the ID CVE-2015-7547. A Google engineer developed a way to exploit it, but has not released details for fear it could get into the wrong hands before everyone has a chance to apply the patch.
To that, anyone using a version of Linux back to 2.9 that was released in 2008 should apply the patch as soon as possible. If that is not reasonable or possible for some reason, Google has released some recommendations for mitigating risk of potential attack.
There is also a proof-of-concept (PoC) available for organizations using Linux and would like to determine if their systems may be affected by it. If so, get the patch. Remote code exploits can be particularly dangerous because they give someone access to your network from afar. Often, it is difficult to tell that someone is in the system, so they have time to do a lot of damage.
Whatever is the case, if you are in charge of a network at any organization, you should immediately address this issue. Remote code execution vulnerabilities are nothing to scoff at and a seasonal flu shot won’t make it go away. So, make sure to address it without delay.
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