Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure
Normally ->s_dentry is cleared when dentry it's pointing to becomes
negative (on eviction, realistically). However, that only happens
if dentry gets to be positive in the first place; in case of inode
allocation failure dentry never becomes positive, so ->d_iput()
is not called at all.
We do part of what normally would've been done by configfs_d_iput()
(dropping the reference to configfs_dirent) manually, but we do
not clear ->s_dentry there. Sloppy as it is, it does not matter in
case of configfs_create_{dir,link}() - there configfs_dirent does
not survive dropping the sole reference to it.
However, for configfs_lookup() it *does* survive, with a dangling
pointer to soon to be freed dentry sitting it its ->s_dentry.
Subsequent getdents(2) in that directory will end up dereferencing
that pointer in order to pick the inode number. Use after free...
This is the minimal fix; the right approach is to set the linkage
between dentry and configfs_dirent only after we know that we have
an inode, but that takes more surgery and the bug had been there
since 2006, so...
configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure
Normally ->s_dentry is cleared when dentry it's pointing to becomes
negative (on eviction, realistically). However, that only happens
if dentry gets to be positive in the first place; in case of inode
allocation failure dentry never becomes positive, so ->d_iput()
is not called at all.
We do part of what normally would've been done by configfs_d_iput()
(dropping the reference to configfs_dirent) manually, but we do
not clear ->s_dentry there. Sloppy as it is, it does not matter in
case of configfs_create_{dir,link}() - there configfs_dirent does
not survive dropping the sole reference to it.
However, for configfs_lookup() it *does* survive, with a dangling
pointer to soon to be freed dentry sitting it its ->s_dentry.
Subsequent getdents(2) in that directory will end up dereferencing
that pointer in order to pick the inode number. Use after free...
This is the minimal fix; the right approach is to set the linkage
between dentry and configfs_dirent only after we know that we have
an inode, but that takes more surgery and the bug had been there
since 2006, so...
Published:
2026-08-15
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis
No analysis available yet.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data available yet.
Remediation
No remediation available yet.
Tracking
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Advisories
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References
History
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure Normally ->s_dentry is cleared when dentry it's pointing to becomes negative (on eviction, realistically). However, that only happens if dentry gets to be positive in the first place; in case of inode allocation failure dentry never becomes positive, so ->d_iput() is not called at all. We do part of what normally would've been done by configfs_d_iput() (dropping the reference to configfs_dirent) manually, but we do not clear ->s_dentry there. Sloppy as it is, it does not matter in case of configfs_create_{dir,link}() - there configfs_dirent does not survive dropping the sole reference to it. However, for configfs_lookup() it *does* survive, with a dangling pointer to soon to be freed dentry sitting it its ->s_dentry. Subsequent getdents(2) in that directory will end up dereferencing that pointer in order to pick the inode number. Use after free... This is the minimal fix; the right approach is to set the linkage between dentry and configfs_dirent only after we know that we have an inode, but that takes more surgery and the bug had been there since 2006, so... | |
| Title | configfs_lookup(): don't leave ->s_dentry dangling on failure | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-08-15T05:58:43.456Z
Reserved: 2026-08-15T05:44:03.887Z
Link: CVE-2026-74359
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-08-15T06:22:37.430
Modified: 2026-08-15T06:22:37.430
Link: CVE-2026-74359
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.