You don't need to be root. > I'm having a hard time understanding why this is worse than any other local root escalation bug except for the consequences of the

You don't need to be root. > I'm having a hard time understanding why this is worse than any other local root escalation bug except for the consequences of the necessary patch. It's not, as far as I'm aware. The fact that the patch has perf consequences is why it's such a big deal.