CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-89643

CriticalCVSS 9.8
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.20%

10th percentile - higher than 10% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, audit_del_rule() has a use-after-free on fsnotify rule autoremove. The unconditional audit_put_tree() assumes the template case, so for mixed AUDIT_DIR and AUDIT_EXE rules an autoremove event drops the installed rule's live tree reference. Repeating this can free the tree while another rule still references it, leading to dereferencing a freed pathname. The fix moves the temporary tree put to audit_rule_change().

Risk Assessment

A use-after-free in the kernel audit subsystem can lead to system crash, privilege escalation, or arbitrary code execution in kernel context. It requires local access and configured audit rules.

Recommendation

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing this fix. Restrict the ability to configure audit rules to trusted users.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: avoid dropping live tree ref on fsnotify rule autoremove audit_del_rule() is used for both netlink deletion templates and internal fsnotify autoremove. The former passes a parsed template which owns a temporary tree reference; the latter passes the installed entry itself. The unconditional audit_put_tree() at the end of audit_del_rule() assumes the template case. For mixed AUDIT_DIR plus AUDIT_EXE rules, an fsnotify autoremove event therefore drops the installed rule's live tree reference. Repeating this across rules sharing the same tree can free the tree while another rule still references it, and a later autoremove dereferences the freed pathname while comparing rules. Move the temporary-tree put to audit_rule_change(), the caller that owns deletion templates. Keep it in the AUDIT_DEL_RULE cleanup so both successful deletion and -ENOENT still release the parser-owned tree. [PM: dropped unnecessary comment for line length reasons]

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS