Read the docs
TI-2026-81887 Aliases CVE-2026-99180GHSA-vcmx-2wrh-m3mj

Use-after-free in Linux kernel unicode casefold map

Priority LOW 33Published · Updated

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: 2 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

The Linux kernel from 5.2 contains a use-after-free in its unicode casefold map, used by ext4, f2fs and tmpfs. The map is freed during unmount while an RCU-mode path lookup can still read it. A local user with low privileges can trigger this by racing a lookup against the last reference to a mount going away.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02

Description from the CNA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: unicode: free the map after a grace period generic_ci_d_hash() and generic_ci_d_compare() read sb->s_encoding and dereference the unicode map while a pathwalk in rcu mode holds nothing but rcu_read_lock(). The filesystems that use them, ext4, f2fs and tmpfs, drop the map with utf8_unload() from ->put_super(), which runs when the last reference to the mount goes away. A lookup that is still inside such a filesystem at that point reads a freed map. With a pathwalk held up in utf8_casefold_hash() while the last reference to a casefolded tmpfs goes away: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in utf8nlookup+0x74c/0x950 Read of size 8 at addr ff110001030fe658 by task walker/98 Call Trace: <TASK> utf8nlookup+0x74c/0x950 utf8byte+0x160/0x1560 utf8_casefold_hash+0x167/0x230 generic_ci_d_hash+0xdd/0x1c0 link_path_walk+0x11ad/0x1d30 path_lookupat+0x63/0xb00 filename_lookup+0x1f1/0x5b0 vfs_statx+0xd7/0x3b0 [...] Allocated by task 94: __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x249/0x560 utf8_load+0x4e/0x570 shmem_parse_opt_casefold.isra.0+0x92/0x270 [...] Freed by task 97: kfree+0x1db/0x5b0 shmem_put_super+0x72/0x170 generic_shutdown_super+0x14c/0x530 kill_anon_super+0x3a/0x60 deactivate_locked_super+0x9c/0xf0 cleanup_mnt+0x9f/0x130 So far that has been hard to hit. umount(2) waits for a grace period in namespace_unlock() before it drops the mount, so only a mount whose last reference goes away elsewhere, like the close of a file or a chdir out of a lazily unmounted directory, can race a walker. So it is reachable. Delay the free until a grace period has passed. The map and the data table it holds a reference to then outlive any pathwalk that found the superblock before the mount went away. The reference on the data table module is dropped from the rcu callback as well. utf8-core is built in whenever CONFIG_UNICODE is set, so there is no module exit that would have to wait for the callbacks. Overlayfs points the s_encoding of an overlay at the map of its first layer without taking a reference of its own. That stays correct. The layer is held by the overlay, so its map is dropped only after the overlay is gone.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.0013 2nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191 +5Red Hat: 2 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux5.2 and later5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.59, 7.2.13, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.2 and later Fixed in 5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.59, 7.2.13, 7.3 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

Upgrade the Linux kernel to 5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.59, 7.2.13 or 7.3, depending on the branch in use. Red Hat has no fix plan for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 or Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-02

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191, 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.59, 7.2.13, 7.3

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Not affected: 6 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-28 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-99180
  2. 2026-10-28 Alias added: GHSA-vcmx-2wrh-m3mj
  3. 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/Linux@092e14e1479a39157ca01668d43e4649793f39ed, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +7 · CNA
  4. 2026-10-30 5 new references · CNA
  5. 2026-10-31 CVSS score added · CNA
  6. 2026-11-02 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  7. 2026-11-02 CVSS score added · Red Hat

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
See all 21741 →

Sources