MediumCVE-2026-99224

    Linux Kernel: security vulnerability (CVE-2026-99224)

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

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    What is affected, what to do

    Update Linux Kernel to version 5.10.273, Linux Kernel to version 5.15.224, Linux Kernel to version 6.1.191.

    Affected
    • Linux Kernel lt 3.18..5.10.273
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.11..5.15.224
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.16..6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.2..6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.7..6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.13..6.18.60
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.19..7.2.14
    • Linux Kernel lt 7.3..7.3.1
    • Linux Kernel lt 7.4..7.4-rc1
    Fixed in
    • Linux Kernel 5.10.273
    • Linux Kernel 5.15.224
    • Linux Kernel 6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel 6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel 6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel 6.18.60
    • Linux Kernel 7.2.14
    • Linux Kernel 7.3.1
    • Linux Kernel 7.4-rc1

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

    Metrics

    5.3

    Priority

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

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    5.3

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org

    0.1 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 1.8

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    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
    56.52 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
    5.3 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
    5.3
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.1 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    1.8
    Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    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
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    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:

    keys: Protect the type name while describing a key

    keyctl_describe_key() must keep the key type's name alive until kasprintf() has consumed it. The retained key reference keeps the key and its description alive, but does not pin the module providing its type. The name is passed to kasprintf() without holding key->sem.

    kvasprintf() uses the saved name pointer in two formatting passes, with a GFP_KERNEL allocation between them. With AF_RXRPC=m, a task that passes View permission before type retirement can overlap a privileged module unload in this order:

    1. KEYCTL_DESCRIBE looks up the key, saves key->type->name in the kasprintf() arguments and completes the first formatting pass.
    2. While the formatter is delayed before its second pass, af_rxrpc_exit() calls unregister_key_type(), which removes the type from the registry and waits for key_gc_keytype().
    3. The collector takes key->sem for writing, retypes the retained key to key_type_dead and completes retirement. Unregistration and module exit return, allowing free_module() to release the type and name.
    4. The formatter resumes its second pass and reads the saved name from released module storage, which can fault in string().

    Hold key->sem for reading across kasprintf(). The collector then cannot retype the key or complete retirement until both formatting passes have finished. If retirement wins the lock first, formatting uses the core key_type_dead name instead. Release the semaphore immediately after kasprintf(), including on allocation failure, before copying to userspace.

    Oops report as below:

    BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffbfff8054794
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
RIP: 0010:string+0x23f/0x470
Call Trace:
 vsnprintf+0x330/0x1110

    Source: BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, 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
    • 7.3 – < 7.3.1
    • 6.7 – < 6.12.115
    • 5.11 – < 5.15.224
    • 5.16 – < 6.1.191
    • 6.13 – < 6.18.60
    • 6.2 – < 6.6.161
    • 6.19 – < 7.2.14
    • 3.18 – < 5.10.273
    • 7.4 – < 7.4-rc1
    • 7.3.1
    • 6.12.115
    • 5.15.224
    • 6.1.191
    • 6.18.60
    • 6.6.161
    • 7.2.14
    • 5.10.273
    • 7.4-rc1

    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. Record modifiedLinux

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99224.json">CVE-2026-99224</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fced7238b7e80cf8aa688d5af976e4aa6e33c329

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

    2. ReceivedLinux

      CVSS V3.1: AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

      Description added or changed

      Show 11 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Protect the type name while describing a key keyctl_describe_key() must keep the key type's name alive until kasprintf() has consumed it. The retained key reference keeps the key and its description alive, but does not pin the module providing its type. The name is passed to kasprintf() without holding key->sem. kvasprintf() uses the saved name pointer in two formatting passes, with a GFP_KERNEL allocation between them. With AF_RXRPC=m, a task that passes View permission before type retirement can overlap a privileged module unload in this order: 1. KEYCTL_DESCRIBE looks up the key, saves key->type->name in the kasprintf() arguments and completes the first formatting pass. 2. While the formatter is delayed before its second pass, af_rxrpc_exit() calls unregister_key_type(), which removes the type from the registry and waits for key_gc_keytype(). 3. The collector takes key->sem for writing, retypes the retained key to key_type_dead and completes retirement. Unregistration and module exit return, allowing free_module() to release the type and name. 4. The formatter resumes its second pass and reads the saved name from released module storage, which can fault in string(). Hold key->sem for reading across kasprintf(). The collector then cannot retype the key or complete retirement until both formatting passes have finished. If retirement wins the lock first, formatting uses the core key_type_dead name instead. Release the semaphore immediately after kasprintf(), including on allocation failure, before copying to userspace. Oops report as below: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffbfff8054794 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page RIP: 0010:string+0x23f/0x470 Call Trace: vsnprintf+0x330/0x1110
      CVSSadded
      —
      AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99224.json">CVE-2026-99224</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0461bc8f91116aae4a020e15f4e1c1fd535ab35e
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/19c4de819e52b7f606468fbfe4fcef4e812e2777
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c3cfd9e262afc9558c38f8cec57f09d10988546
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b613747f7ea309ada5b8d05b55398c338f7a968
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/916667df7695366f23cfaf365b5840b228cc4b2e
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a49e6c9a1a5b3457c946a8efb616ce13b4ca8194
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dddd3a1ab7d12ee163477918ff6eb943361db4fe
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dea367df18e3a4faac393e3a4e818ee03af89b19

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

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