What is CVE-2026-98281?

CVE-2026-98281 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.18.33 onward and patched in 6.18.54, 7.2.8 and 7.3-rc4. CVE-2026-98281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98281?

CVE-2026-98281 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98281?

Yes, CVE-2026-98281 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.54, 7.2.8 and 7.3-rc4. If you are running Linux kernel 6.18.33 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-98281 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-98281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-98281

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: futex: Also allocate private hash on vfork() As Jann demonstrated, it is entirely feasible to access the mm through vfork(). Therefore we need to allocate a private hash on vfork() as well as any other CLONE_VM user. Specifically, it must be avoided to have (private) futex waiters before allocating the private hash.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-10-06

Last modified 2026-10-07

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.18.33, 7.0.10, 7.1 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3-rc4 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.18.33 ≥ 7.0.10 ≥ 7.1

Fixed in

✓ 6.18.54 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.8 7.2.x ✓ 7.3-rc4

References

3 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-98281

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-10-06

Modified 2026-10-07

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-98281?

CVE-2026-98281 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.18.33 onward and has been patched in 6.18.54, 7.2.8 and 7.3-rc4. CVE-2026-98281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98281?

CVE-2026-98281 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98281?

Yes. CVE-2026-98281 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.54, 7.2.8 and 7.3-rc4. If you are running Linux kernel 6.18.33 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-98281 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-98281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.