CVE-2026-74484

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: binfmt_misc: don't let an 'F' entry pin its own instance An entry registered with 'F' opens its interpreter at registration time and holds that file until the entry is freed. Any entry nobody removes by hand only gets closed once the binfmt_misc superblock is shut down. If the interpreter lives on a mount that keeps that superblock alive the two pin each other: binfmt_misc sb -> inode -> entry -> interp_file -> vfsmount -> binfmt_misc sb TL;DR the file is never closed. Once the mount namespace is gone there is nothing left to unregister through either. There are two ways to trigger this bug: - Point the interpreter at the instance itself. Its files are regular files owned by the mounter and both bm_get_inode() and simple_fill_super() leave i_op at empty_iops. So notify_change() falls back to simple_setattr() and chmod +x works. We never set SB_I_NOEXEC and so open_exec() accepts it. - Use the instance as an overlayfs lower layer. The overlay superblock holds a clone_private_mount() of every layer until it is destroyed and that clone is in no namespace. So umount_tree() never reaches it. That's a DoS. And it isn't only the superblock that leaks. It pins the user namespace it was mounted in, so every iteration permanently eats one of the caller's user namespace charges. So let's just do the sane thing. SB_I_NOEXEC makes open_exec() fail on the instance's own files and s_stack_depth makes overlayfs reject the layer before it ever takes a clone. That also covers the ecryptfs and fuse passthrough variants. What 'F' promises is unchanged. The stable tag is narrower than the Fixes tags on purpose. Before sandboxed mounts this needed global root against the single instance everyone shares, and the change doesn't apply to those trees anyway. Note that SB_I_NODEV is implicitly raised for userns mounts but raise it explicitly here as well.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-08-15
Last modified 2026-08-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.8 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1.8, 7.2-rc6 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.8
Fixed in
✓ 6.12.103 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.44 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.8 7.1.x ✓ 7.2-rc6

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-74484?

    CVE-2026-74484 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.8 onward and has been patched in 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1.8 and others. CVE-2026-74484 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-74484?

    Yes. CVE-2026-74484 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.103, 6.18.44, 7.1.8 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.8 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-74484 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-74484 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.