CVE-2026-98862
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
audit: fix exe mark UAF in kill_rules()
kill_rules() removes mixed AUDIT_DIR and AUDIT_EXE rules when an audit tree is pruned. It drops entry->rule.exe before removing the rule from the RCU-visible filter lists.
After a rule has been installed with AUDIT_ADD_RULE, which requires CAP_AUDIT_CONTROL, removing the watched directory can race with another task that is still evaluating the rule. In that case, fsnotify can free the executable mark before the reader reaches audit_mark_compare(), causing a use-after-free.
Unlink the published rules from the RCU-visible lists and retain them on tree->rules for cleanup.
Read full descriptionShow less
If any rule has an executable mark, wait for a single RCU grace period before removing the marks and scheduling the entries for freeing. Otherwise, call_rcu() already provides the required deferred freeing without a synchronous wait.
Technical details traces, logs and code from the original report
KASAN reports:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in audit_mark_compare+0x8d/0xa0CVSS
NVD hasn't assigned a CVSS score to this CVE (common since the April 2026 policy change).
Exploitation probability (EPSS)
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
- 0.16 %
- Percentile among all scored CVEs
- 4
- Score date
- 10/20/2026
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
Affected technologies (1)
⚠ AI-inferred from the description — NVD hasn't analyzed this CVE yet, these aren't verified CPEs.
References
Show 4 references
Raw JSON (NVD)
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{
"id": "CVE-2026-98862",
"cveTags": [],
"metrics": {},
"affected": [
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"affectedData": [
{
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"product": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc",
"lessThan": "304960900991157e6883bdf0b39782b690545ee8",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc",
"lessThan": "88633025f20ba9c32ccdb3efc86eafdf98cb825c",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc",
"lessThan": "f2cc5462b78559c7628a9f8ac9a9592e7783183a",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc",
"lessThan": "aa650d87a498844060eecb1d336f4d46f4d1b0b3",
"versionType": "git"
}
],
"programFiles": [
"kernel/audit_tree.c"
],
"defaultStatus": "unaffected"
},
{
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"product": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "4.3"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"lessThan": "4.3",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.113",
"versionType": "semver",
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.18.56",
"versionType": "semver",
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.2.10",
"versionType": "semver",
"lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*"
},
{
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.3",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix",
"lessThanOrEqual": "*"
}
],
"programFiles": [
"kernel/audit_tree.c"
],
"defaultStatus": "affected"
}
]
}
],
"published": "2026-10-18T16:17:40.677",
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/304960900991157e6883bdf0b39782b690545ee8",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88633025f20ba9c32ccdb3efc86eafdf98cb825c",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aa650d87a498844060eecb1d336f4d46f4d1b0b3",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f2cc5462b78559c7628a9f8ac9a9592e7783183a",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
}
],
"vulnStatus": "Received",
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\naudit: fix exe mark UAF in kill_rules()\n\nkill_rules() removes mixed AUDIT_DIR and AUDIT_EXE rules when an audit\ntree is pruned. It drops entry->rule.exe before removing the rule from\nthe RCU-visible filter lists.\n\nAfter a rule has been installed with AUDIT_ADD_RULE, which requires\nCAP_AUDIT_CONTROL, removing the watched directory can race with another\ntask that is still evaluating the rule. In that case, fsnotify can free\nthe executable mark before the reader reaches audit_mark_compare(),\ncausing a use-after-free.\n\nKASAN reports:\n\n BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in audit_mark_compare+0x8d/0xa0\n\nUnlink the published rules from the RCU-visible lists and retain them\non tree->rules for cleanup. If any rule has an executable mark, wait for\na single RCU grace period before removing the marks and scheduling the\nentries for freeing. Otherwise, call_rcu() already provides the required\ndeferred freeing without a synchronous wait."
}
],
"lastModified": "2026-10-19T10:19:50.287",
"sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
}