Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
signal: Prevent exec() race
Hyunwoo debugged the following KASAN UAF splat:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __send_signal_locked+0xb27/0xba0
Write of size 8 at addr ffff888007ed80c8 by task poc/79
...
Call Trace:
__send_signal_locked+0xb27/0xba0
do_send_sig_info+0xa7/0x160
do_send_specific+0x76/0xa0
__x64_sys_tgkill+0x193/0x270
...
Allocated by task 80:
do_timer_create+0x1a4/0x1030
__x64_sys_timer_create+0x145/0x190
...
Freed by task 12:
kmem_cache_free_bulk+0x1f8/0x4a0
kvfree_rcu_bulk+0x14f/0x1c0
kfree_rcu_work+0x128/0x1a0
...
Last potentially related work creation:
kvfree_call_rcu+0x39/0x390
__flush_itimer_signals+0x211/0x320
flush_itimer_signals+0x47/0x90
begin_new_exec+0xa6b/0x28c0
It turned out that this happens with a non-leader exec() as Hyunwoo
explained:
de_thread() calls exchange_tids() before release_task(leader), so the
struct pid held by a SIGEV_THREAD_ID timer created against the leader's tid
now points to the thread which called execve(). pid_task() returns that
thread and lock_task_sighand() on it succeeds.
If the timer signal is blocked, its sigqueue stays queued on the leader's
task::pending. The next expiry of that timer can then run while
release_task() flushes the queue.
posixtimer_send_sigqueue() checks whether the sigqueue is already queued
with a plain list_empty(), which only reads list_head::next.
list_del_init() is not atomic and INIT_LIST_HEAD() stores list_head::next
before list_head::prev, so the check can pass in between. list_add_tail()
queues the entry on the task::pending of the live thread, and the
list_head::prev store from the flush then overwrites the list_head::prev
link that list_add_tail() has just set.
__flush_itimer_signals() does not undo that either. With list_head::prev
pointing at the entry itself, its list_del_init() only stores the same
values again, so the entry is not removed from the list. It is still there
after the last reference is dropped and the timer is freed by RCU, and the
list_add_tail() of a later tgkill() follows that list_head::prev into the
freed timer.
This problem surfaced with the recent commit which moved the sigqueue flush
out of the sighand lock held region.
Hyonwoo proposed to fix this by using list_del_init_careful(), but that
just papers over the problem. After some disucssions and various attempts
to solve it, Eric pointed out that there is no reason to flush
task::pending late in release_task() and it should be done in
exit_signals() already.
As nothing can collect and deliver signals which are queued in a dying
task's pending queue, there is no reason to delay it further.
But it has to be ensured that no signals can be queued into it after that
point. exit_signals() sets PF_EXITING in task::flags, which can be used as
an indicator for this.
Cure it by:
- Preventing signal queueing for task private signals (PIDTYPE_PID) when
the task has PF_EXITING set in __send_signal_locked() and in
posixtimer_send_sigqueue().
- Protecting the unlocked setting of PF_EXITING in exit_signals() for the
task group empty and the group exit case with sighand lock
- Flushing task::pending signals right there.
Optimize that by moving the whole pending list to an on-stack list head
under sighand lock and free the signals without the lock held.
There has been quite some discussion about the lockless flush and the
non-leader exec case on weakly ordered systems. The problem is that a third
party which tries to send a posix timer signal relies on the PID lookup to
find the target task and that lookup might result in the new leader when
the signal was originaly directed to the old leader. In case that the
signal was queued on the old leader then the lockless flush raised a
concern over the following situation:
old_leader new_leader third party
A: flush_list() // list_del_in
---truncated---
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.15 | 6.18.54 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 7.2.8-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux | 7.0.0-42.42 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-aws | 7.0.0-1016.17 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure | 7.0.0-1020.21 | USN-9019-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 7.0.0-1019.19 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 7.0.0-1016.18 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gke | 7.0.0-1010.11 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-ibm +1 | 7.0.0-1017.17 | USN-8960-1, USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 7.0.0-1015.16 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 7.0.0-1023.23 | USN-9021-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 7.0.0-43.43.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-riscv | 7.0.0-42.42.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-7.0 | 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 | USN-8959-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle-7.0 | 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1 | USN-9020-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +30 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | rv +77 | 6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:85321 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Shadow Migration Toolkit 10 | kernel-modules-internal | 6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:85321 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 10 | rv +74 | 6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:85321 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | kernel | 6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 | RLSA-2026:85321 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 7.2.10-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12131-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.54-121.166 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +12 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 10 | rv +29 | 6.12.0-211.67.1.el10_2 | ELSA-2026-85321 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
GitHub 2 repositories
-
ylh440104/InfinityCore-Android-CVE-2026-98256 ★ 2 · Oct 18, 2026
Android/ARM64 port
-
villager1314/CVE-2026-98256-Analysis ★ 0 · Oct 18, 2026
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 12
- USN-9021-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3743 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9020-1 linux-aws-7.0, linux-azure-fde, linux-azure-fde-7.0, linux-gcp-7.0, linux-gke, linux-oracle-7.0, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8959-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-ibm, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9019-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8960-1 linux-oem-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- ALSA-2026:85321 Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Nov 6, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3192 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 26, 2026
- RLSA-2026:85321 Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Oct 21, 2026
- RHSA-2026:85321 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- ELSA-2026-85321 Important: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update (Oracle Linux 10) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12131-1 kernel-devel-7.2.10-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 15, 2026