CVE-2026-99179 (GCVE-0-2026-99179)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-10-28 10:35
Modified
2026-10-28 10:35
Severity ?
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.
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
Linux Linux Version: c73be61cede5882f9605a852414db559c0ebedfd
Version: c73be61cede5882f9605a852414db559c0ebedfd
Version: c73be61cede5882f9605a852414db559c0ebedfd
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{
  "containers": {
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          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "kernel/watch_queue.c"
          ],
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          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
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              "version": "5.8"
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              "version": "0",
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              "version": "7.2.13",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.3",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
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        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
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                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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                  "vulnerable": true
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              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
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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"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "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()",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "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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