In the Linux kernel through 5.16.10, certain binary files may have the exec-all attribute if they were built in approximately 2003 (e.g., with GCC 3.2.2 and Linux kernel 2.4.20). This can cause execution of bytes located in supposedly non-executable regions of a file.
The MITRE CVE dictionary describes this issue as:
In the Linux kernel through 5.16.10, certain binary files may have the exec-all attribute if they were built in approximately 2003 (e.g., with GCC 3.2.2 and Linux kernel 2.4.20). This can cause execution of bytes located in supposedly non-executable regions of a file.
Vulmon