Kernel panic via uninitialized kernfs parent
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Denial of service in Linux before 7.1.5 allows attackers to panic the kernel when the first labeled cgroup is created under SELinux. During __kernfs_new_node, the LSM security hook calls kernfs_xattr_set before kn->__parent or kn->dir.root is initialized, so kernfs_root returns NULL and simple_xattr_set faults. Reachability requires SELinux and a labeled cgroup parent; the published record does not establish an unprivileged trigger.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Linux before 7.1.5 allows attackers to panic the kernel when the first labeled cgroup is created under SELinux. During __kernfs_new_node, the LSM security hook calls kernfs_xattr_set before kn->__parent or kn->dir.root is initialized, so kernfs_root returns NULL and simple_xattr_set faults. Reachability requires SELinux and a labeled cgroup parent; the published record does not establish an unprivileged trigger.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74342
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-457, CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <7.1.5
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <319b82e8b46edaf557436ad858e734e583f78ec9
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6cccc49b027c7551ffc1d2532f2ef1922661f3da
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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