Linux Kernel up to 7.2.6/7.3-rc2 vduse receive_fd return value

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.6/7.3-rc2. The impacted element is the function receive_fd of the component vduse. Executing a manipulation can lead to return value. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-97983. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.6/7.3-rc2. This vulnerability affects the function receive_fd of the component vduse. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a return value vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-252. The product does not check the return value from a method or function, which can prevent it from detecting unexpected states and conditions. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vduse: return compat ioctl results directly The compat handler handles VDUSE_IOTLB_GET_FD and VDUSE_VQ_GET_INFO, but then calls the native handler. Their different command sizes make native dispatch return -ENOIOCTLCMD. For GET_FD, this overwrites receive_fd()'s return value after the descriptor is installed, leaking one fd per call. Return handled compat results directly and use native dispatch only for other commands.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-97983 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 135ac58097fa5fc707bf392c5cececf59e4080c0/48a4ee65e677559776349128e6a81a6041986c99 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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