configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure Normally ->s_dentry is cleared when dentry it's pointing to becomes negative (on eviction, realistically). However, that only happens if dentry gets to be positive in the first place; in case of inode allocation failure dentry never becomes positive, so ->d_iput() is not called at all. We do part of what normally would've been done by configfs_d_iput() (dropping the reference to configfs_dirent) manually, but we do not clear ->s_dentry there. Sloppy as it is, it does not matter in case of configfs_create_{dir,link}() - there configfs_dirent does not survive dropping the sole reference to it. However, for configfs_lookup() it *does* survive, with a dangling pointer to soon to be freed dentry sitting it its ->s_dentry. Subsequent getdents(2) in that directory will end up dereferencing that pointer in order to pick the inode number. Use after free... This is the minimal fix; the right approach is to set the linkage between dentry and configfs_dirent only after we know that we have an inode, but that takes more surgery and the bug had been there since 2006, so...
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74359
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-w2rw-4pc9-v672
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e83b2203aa59bd279e4f677ec793d49dc9d019e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6e9c82522ddaa3ac0706b295ff4a71975d4f883
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eee07d769da5ac4e4f7bd0bc17828646a318d499
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c747dcee164ead300de90550ad9e4122f0d1bbb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3b073a209a9baa691b744318ac929fecdd8847c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57088b06109f3222963c639d8d743f42c2899b13
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10da12d352b7b2bb330a8609fdda9a58bf0e9856
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74359 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74359 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w2rw-4pc9-v672 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74359 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences