[prvit]

> At least on Linux, a bug on the kernel module could lead to injection of other kernel modules, packages being installed, core binaries being tampered with, which are not impossible to do in userland but require deceiving the user in entering its credentials

None of this matters, because all the files you care about live in your homedir anyway. In a desktop environment, the malware can tamper with your .profile to replace e.g. the sudo binary and gain root access without any exploits.