CVE-2026-98982
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: namespace: don't let a pseudo dentry become the root of a mount d_alloc_pseudo() hands out dentries for pipes, sockets and other files that are never anyone's child or parent. They carry DCACHE_NORCU and dentry_free() frees them right away because no lockless path walk can ever reach them. That holds as long as such a dentry isn't the root of a mount. But bind mounting /proc/self/fd/<fd> of such a file does exactly that. Most callers of alloc_file_pseudo() put their files on kernel-internal mounts and may_copy_tree() refuses those. bpf_token_create() doesn't. It places the token file on the bpffs mount the caller handed it and that mount is in the caller's mount namespace so the clone goes through: mount --bind /proc/self/fd/<token> <file> open_tree(tokfd, "", AT_EMPTY_PATH | OPEN_TREE_CLONE) + move_mount() __follow_mount_rcu() then loads ->mnt_root of that mount, reads d_seq and d_flags of the dentry and only then checks mount_lock. The dentry can be gone by then. The final mntput() of an unmounted parent unhooks a child that stayed attached to it under mount_lock alone. When the child's holder does the final put right after that the root is dput() and freed immediately while a walker that found the mount hashed still looks at it. Refuse to clone a mount with a DCACHE_NORCU dentry as its root. Nothing sensible can be done with a bind mount of a bpf token anyway.
CVSS 3.1 score
7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.9
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.113,
6.18.57,
7.2.11,
7.3
and their respective stable series.
References
4 totalFrequently asked questions
-
What is CVE-2026-98982?
CVE-2026-98982 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.9 onward and has been patched in 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 and others. CVE-2026-98982 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
-
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98982?
CVE-2026-98982 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-2026-98982?
Yes. CVE-2026-98982 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.9 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
-
Is CVE-2026-98982 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98982 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.