CVE-2026-53381

Kernel panic via virtiofs teardown use-after-free

Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026

Use-after-free in Linux kernel virtiofs allows local users to trigger a kernel panic during submount teardown. The asynchronous FUSE release path lets fuse_release_end() call iput() after the submount superblock has already been destroyed because waiting is per connection rather than per superblock. Reachability requires local VFS access to a virtiofs mount with FUSE submounts and overlap between file release and submount teardown; a successful trigger crashes the guest kernel.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Linux kernel virtiofs allows local users to trigger a kernel panic during submount teardown. The asynchronous FUSE release path lets fuse_release_end() call iput() after the submount superblock has already been destroyed because waiting is per connection rather than per superblock. Reachability requires local VFS access to a virtiofs mount with FUSE submounts and overlap between file release and submount teardown; a successful trigger crashes the guest kernel.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-53381
Published
Jul 19, 2026
Updated
Jul 19, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-416, CWE-825, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <06b41351779e9289e8785694ade9042ae85e41ea
  2. Affected versionversion=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <2abfd3ffbd9452f72535d96ff3982b3ab1f8f2f9
  3. Affected versionversion=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <39a2b95e008665c14f84e50ed411d898df7cd11b
  4. Affected versionversion=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <e09412a714bcd49375198427bb4aa005037a9d6f
  5. Affected versionversion=5.10.246 <5.10.260
  6. Affected versionversion=5.15.196 <5.15.211
  7. Affected versionversion=548e1f2bac1d4df91a6138f26bb4ab00323fd948 <607a1d4c42f649e6197567c0448fd9ebb316cd42
  8. Affected versionversion=6.1.158 <6.1.177
  9. Affected versionversion=6.12.54 <6.12.95
  10. Affected versionversion=6.17.4 <6.18
  11. Affected versionversion=6.18
  12. Affected versionversion=6.6.115 <6.6.144
  13. Affected versionversion=83b375c6efef69b1066ad2d79601221e7892745a <0b809199ff87c44487e516a725dd4be2185712ce
  14. Affected versionversion=b26923512dbe57ae4917bafd31396d22a9d1691a <97c4691653d145dcc699eca5d3aba3219a520f1f
  15. Affected versionversion=bfd17b6138df0122a95989457d8e18ce0b86165e <2181a09ba980f142650fb053666350ead4471cfe
  16. Affected versionversion=cfd1aa3e2b71f3327cb373c45a897c9028c62b35 <1cc0e3a0c6499aaaa2f21a4fcbba388486afb25e
  17. Affected versionversion=f19a1390af448d9e193c08e28ea5f727bf3c3049

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <06b41351779e9289e8785694ade9042ae85e41ea; version=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <2abfd3ffbd9452f72535d96ff3982b3ab1f8f2f9; version=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <39a2b95e008665c14f84e50ed411d898df7cd11b; version=26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 <e09412a714bcd49375198427bb4aa005037a9d6f; version=5.10.246 <5.10.260; version=5.15.196 <5.15.211; version=548e1f2bac1d4df91a6138f26bb4ab00323fd948 <607a1d4c42f649e6197567c0448fd9ebb316cd42; version=6.1.158 <6.1.177; version=6.12.54 <6.12.95; version=6.17.4 <6.18; version=6.18; version=6.6.115 <6.6.144; version=83b375c6efef69b1066ad2d79601221e7892745a <0b809199ff87c44487e516a725dd4be2185712ce; version=b26923512dbe57ae4917bafd31396d22a9d1691a <97c4691653d145dcc699eca5d3aba3219a520f1f; version=bfd17b6138df0122a95989457d8e18ce0b86165e <2181a09ba980f142650fb053666350ead4471cfe; version=cfd1aa3e2b71f3327cb373c45a897c9028c62b35 <1cc0e3a0c6499aaaa2f21a4fcbba388486afb25e; version=f19a1390af448d9e193c08e28ea5f727bf3c3049

Published CVSS scores

7.8kernel.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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