In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fhandle: fix UAF due to unlocked ->mnt_ns read in may_decode_fh()
may_decode_fh() accesses mount::mnt_ns without holding any locks; that
means the mount can concurrently be unmounted, and the mnt_namespace can
concurrently be freed after an RCU grace period.
This race can happens as follows, assuming that the mount point was
created by open_tree(..., OPEN_TREE_CLONE):
thread 1 thread 2 RCU
__do_sys_open_by_handle_at
do_handle_open
handle_to_path
may_decode_fh
is_mounted
[mount::mnt_ns access]
[mount::mnt_ns access]
__do_sys_close
fput_close_sync
__fput
dissolve_on_fput
umount_tree
class_namespace_excl_destructor
namespace_unlock
free_mnt_ns
mnt_ns_tree_remove
call_rcu(mnt_ns_release_rcu)
mnt_ns_release_rcu
mnt_ns_release
kfree
[mnt_namespace::user_ns access] **UAF**
Fix it by taking rcu_read_lock() around the mount::mnt_ns access, like
in __prepend_path().
Additionally, document the semantics of mount::mnt_ns, and use WRITE_ONCE()
for writers that can race with lockless readers.
This bug is unreachable unless one of the following is set:
- CONFIG_PREEMPTION
- CONFIG_RCU_STRICT_GRACE_PERIOD
because it requires an RCU grace period to happen during a syscall without
an explicit preemption.
This doesn't seem to have interesting security impact; worst-case, it could
leak the result of an integer comparison to userspace (from the level
check in cap_capable()), cause an endless loop, or crash the kernel by
dereferencing an invalid address.
fhandle: fix UAF due to unlocked ->mnt_ns read in may_decode_fh()
may_decode_fh() accesses mount::mnt_ns without holding any locks; that
means the mount can concurrently be unmounted, and the mnt_namespace can
concurrently be freed after an RCU grace period.
This race can happens as follows, assuming that the mount point was
created by open_tree(..., OPEN_TREE_CLONE):
thread 1 thread 2 RCU
__do_sys_open_by_handle_at
do_handle_open
handle_to_path
may_decode_fh
is_mounted
[mount::mnt_ns access]
[mount::mnt_ns access]
__do_sys_close
fput_close_sync
__fput
dissolve_on_fput
umount_tree
class_namespace_excl_destructor
namespace_unlock
free_mnt_ns
mnt_ns_tree_remove
call_rcu(mnt_ns_release_rcu)
mnt_ns_release_rcu
mnt_ns_release
kfree
[mnt_namespace::user_ns access] **UAF**
Fix it by taking rcu_read_lock() around the mount::mnt_ns access, like
in __prepend_path().
Additionally, document the semantics of mount::mnt_ns, and use WRITE_ONCE()
for writers that can race with lockless readers.
This bug is unreachable unless one of the following is set:
- CONFIG_PREEMPTION
- CONFIG_RCU_STRICT_GRACE_PERIOD
because it requires an RCU grace period to happen during a syscall without
an explicit preemption.
This doesn't seem to have interesting security impact; worst-case, it could
leak the result of an integer comparison to userspace (from the level
check in cap_capable()), cause an endless loop, or crash the kernel by
dereferencing an invalid address.
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 |
|
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Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fhandle: fix UAF due to unlocked ->mnt_ns read in may_decode_fh() may_decode_fh() accesses mount::mnt_ns without holding any locks; that means the mount can concurrently be unmounted, and the mnt_namespace can concurrently be freed after an RCU grace period. This race can happens as follows, assuming that the mount point was created by open_tree(..., OPEN_TREE_CLONE): thread 1 thread 2 RCU __do_sys_open_by_handle_at do_handle_open handle_to_path may_decode_fh is_mounted [mount::mnt_ns access] [mount::mnt_ns access] __do_sys_close fput_close_sync __fput dissolve_on_fput umount_tree class_namespace_excl_destructor namespace_unlock free_mnt_ns mnt_ns_tree_remove call_rcu(mnt_ns_release_rcu) mnt_ns_release_rcu mnt_ns_release kfree [mnt_namespace::user_ns access] **UAF** Fix it by taking rcu_read_lock() around the mount::mnt_ns access, like in __prepend_path(). Additionally, document the semantics of mount::mnt_ns, and use WRITE_ONCE() for writers that can race with lockless readers. This bug is unreachable unless one of the following is set: - CONFIG_PREEMPTION - CONFIG_RCU_STRICT_GRACE_PERIOD because it requires an RCU grace period to happen during a syscall without an explicit preemption. This doesn't seem to have interesting security impact; worst-case, it could leak the result of an integer comparison to userspace (from the level check in cap_capable()), cause an endless loop, or crash the kernel by dereferencing an invalid address. | |
| Title | fhandle: fix UAF due to unlocked ->mnt_ns read in may_decode_fh() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-07-01T13:32:22.873Z
Reserved: 2026-06-09T07:44:35.399Z
Link: CVE-2026-53341
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
No data.
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.