Linux Kernel up to 7.2.10 statmount statmount_mnt_basic locking

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.10. It has been declared as very critical. The impacted element is the function statmount_mnt_basic of the component statmount. Executing a manipulation can lead to locking. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-98994. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.10. This vulnerability affects the function statmount_mnt_basic of the component statmount. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a locking vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-667. The product does not properly acquire or release a lock on a resource, leading to unexpected resource state changes and behaviors. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: statmount: read the parent of an unmounted mount under mount_lock statmount_mnt_basic() reads the ids of the parent through m->mnt_parent with namespace_sem held for reading. That's fine for a mount that is in a namespace. Everything above it is pinned by that namespace. STATMOUNT_BY_FD also accepts a file descriptor on a mount that has been unmounted on purpose and that only the file descriptor keeps alive. If that mount stayed attached to its parent when it was unmounted the parent is unmounted as well and nothing pins it for the child. The final mntput() unmounts the children under mount_lock alone and frees the parent afterwards. Concurrently, statmount_mnt_basic() reads m->mnt_parent twice while that can happen and can easily dereference a mount that's already gone. Read the parent of an unmounted mount under mount_lock. The parent can't be put while it is held and both ids come from the same mount. A mounted mount's parent is pinned by the namespace and a mount can't leave its namespace while namespace_sem is held, so the common case takes no global lock.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-98994 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack needs to be approached locally. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 10/23/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.2.11 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 98fc6c7b6ca676157d2c780bd0a537b2c10fe08f is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.2.9
• 7.2.10

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Discussion