CVE-2026-99179 (GCVE-0-2026-99179)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-10-28 10:35
Modified
2026-10-28 10:35
Severity ?
VLAI Severity ?
EPSS score ?
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
watch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in watch_queue_set_size()
There is a race between watch_queue_set_size() and post_one_notification().
watch_queue_set_size() publishes wqueue->notes, notes_bitmap, nr_pages and
nr_notes with plain stores, and post_one_notification() reads them with
plain loads under a different lock, so nothing orders the four stores
against the poster's loads: depending on the build, notes can be stored
last (gcc 14 on x86-64 does this). Since keyctl_watch_key() lets a watch
attach to a queue before it is sized, post_one_notification() can already
be running on another CPU at that moment: it reads nr_notes > 0, passes
its bounds check, and then reads notes while it is still NULL,
dereferencing notes[0].
An unprivileged user triggers this reliably by watching one of its own
keys through a notification pipe and racing ioctl(IOC_WATCH_QUEUE_SET_SIZE)
on that pipe against keyctl(KEYCTL_SETPERM) on the key from another CPU,
triggering:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
RIP: 0010:post_one_notification.isra.0+0xa2/0x1e0
Call Trace:
__post_watch_notification+0x148/0x180
keyctl_setperm_key+0x119/0x130
do_syscall_64+0x108/0x4c0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt
Fix this by publishing nr_notes last with smp_store_release(), and by
reading it once with smp_load_acquire() in post_one_notification() before
the bitmap and the page array are touched. A poster that observes a
non-zero nr_notes then also observes the pool behind it; one that observes
zero drops the notification as before.
References
Impacted products
{
"containers": {
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"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
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"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwatch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in watch_queue_set_size()\n\nThere is a race between watch_queue_set_size() and post_one_notification().\nwatch_queue_set_size() publishes wqueue-\u003enotes, notes_bitmap, nr_pages and\nnr_notes with plain stores, and post_one_notification() reads them with\nplain loads under a different lock, so nothing orders the four stores\nagainst the poster\u0027s loads: depending on the build, notes can be stored\nlast (gcc 14 on x86-64 does this). Since keyctl_watch_key() lets a watch\nattach to a queue before it is sized, post_one_notification() can already\nbe running on another CPU at that moment: it reads nr_notes \u003e 0, passes\nits bounds check, and then reads notes while it is still NULL,\ndereferencing notes[0].\n\nAn unprivileged user triggers this reliably by watching one of its own\nkeys through a notification pipe and racing ioctl(IOC_WATCH_QUEUE_SET_SIZE)\non that pipe against keyctl(KEYCTL_SETPERM) on the key from another CPU,\ntriggering:\n\n BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000\n RIP: 0010:post_one_notification.isra.0+0xa2/0x1e0\n Call Trace:\n __post_watch_notification+0x148/0x180\n keyctl_setperm_key+0x119/0x130\n do_syscall_64+0x108/0x4c0\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt\n\nFix this by publishing nr_notes last with smp_store_release(), and by\nreading it once with smp_load_acquire() in post_one_notification() before\nthe bitmap and the page array are touched. A poster that observes a\nnon-zero nr_notes then also observes the pool behind it; one that observes\nzero drops the notification as before."
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-10-28T10:35:32.734Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
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"references": [
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"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/811fb6d0b07605e8e8d93bde8748be4b3028809a"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e73a6754457ffed8399b835552013b9363e51d1"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e531d62f1f8834faf7a4eed0d41105cf6570a8f"
}
],
"title": "watch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in watch_queue_set_size()",
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}
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"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-99179",
"datePublished": "2026-10-28T10:35:32.734Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-09-25T10:25:14.399Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-10-28T10:35:32.734Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
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Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
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