HighCVE-2026-99181

    Linux Kernel: Memory Corruption (CVE-2026-99181)

    Published Last modified Sources: Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: autofs: ignore notification errors from a replaced pipe autofs_notify_daemon() takes a reference to the current notification pipe under wq_mutex, then drops the mutex before writing the request. The write can block while the daemon enters catatonic mode and installs a replacement pipe.

    Update Linux Kernel to version 7.2.13, Linux Kernel to version 7.3, Linux Kernel to version 6.18.59.

    Affected
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.19..7.2.13
    • Linux Kernel lt 2.6.28..6.18.59
    Fixed in
    • Linux Kernel 7.2.13
    • Linux Kernel 7.3
    • Linux Kernel 6.18.59

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    7.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    7.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org

    —

    EPSS score

    No value is available for this vulnerability.

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    30.00 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    7.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.8
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: autofs: ignore notification errors from a replaced pipe autofs_notify_daemon() takes a reference to the current notification pipe under wq_mutex, then drops the mutex before writing the request. The write can block while the daemon enters catatonic mode and installs a replacement pipe. If the old pipe's reader is then closed, the delayed write returns -EPIPE and the generic error path enters catatonic mode again. That transition acts on the current superblock state, closes the replacement pipe, and releases the new daemon generation's wait queues. Only enter catatonic mode when the pipe which failed is still the current pipe. Factor the already-locked transition so the identity check and state change are atomic with respect to another replacement. This was reproduced on v7.3-rc5-337-gff47652a4b66c in a local QEMU guest. An unprivileged UID 65534 lookup filled the old packet pipe before a normal CATATONIC/SETPIPEFD restart. On the unmodified kernel, the new pipe received HUP and both a pending victim lookup and a later lookup failed with ENOENT in two out of two fresh-mount runs. With this change, the new pipe remained active, received an intact 304-byte request, and both victim lookups completed in two out of two runs. Normal lookup and restart-without-a-blocked-writer controls passed. No KASAN, oops, refcount, or lock diagnostic was observed. A source reproducer and complete local logs are available privately on request. The demonstrated impact is limited to denial of a shared autofs service during a legitimate daemon restart. No memory corruption, information leak, privilege escalation, or code execution primitive was observed.

    Source: Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    LinuxLinux
    • 6.19 – < 7.2.13
    • 2.6.28 – < 6.18.59
    • —
    • 7.2.13
    • 6.18.59
    • 7.3

    Vendors and products

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. ReceivedLinux

      Description added or changed

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: autofs: ignore notification errors from a replaced pipe autofs_notify_daemon() takes a reference to the current notification pipe under wq_mutex, then drops the mutex before writing the request. The write can block while the daemon enters catatonic mode and installs a replacement pipe. If the old pipe's reader is then closed, the delayed write returns -EPIPE and the generic error path enters catatonic mode again. That transition acts on the current superblock state, closes the replacement pipe, and releases the new daemon generation's wait queues. Only enter catatonic mode when the pipe which failed is still the current pipe. Factor the already-locked transition so the identity check and state change are atomic with respect to another replacement. This was reproduced on v7.3-rc5-337-gff47652a4b66c in a local QEMU guest. An unprivileged UID 65534 lookup filled the old packet pipe before a normal CATATONIC/SETPIPEFD restart. On the unmodified kernel, the new pipe received HUP and both a pending victim lookup and a later lookup failed with ENOENT in two out of two fresh-mount runs. With this change, the new pipe remained active, received an intact 304-byte request, and both victim lookups completed in two out of two runs. Normal lookup and restart-without-a-blocked-writer controls passed. No KASAN, oops, refcount, or lock diagnostic was observed. A source reproducer and complete local logs are available privately on request. The demonstrated impact is limited to denial of a shared autofs service during a legitimate daemon restart. No memory corruption, information leak, privilege escalation, or code execution primitive was observed.
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99181.json">CVE-2026-99181</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a177064f501ed4b67873a43aae5d5bdb18b3704
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65676cd4203c0e41a94caf54080a7f0a95434bda
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb296391f685d82dbb93621a970fb234cea45280

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

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