Local privilege escalation via kernfs xattr race
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Race condition in the Linux kernel 7.1 through 7.1.4 allows local users to escalate privileges through concurrent kernfs xattr operations. The kernfs_xattr_set and kernfs_vfs_user_xattr_set paths call simple_xattr_set while relying only on per-inode VFS locks, so namespace-distinct superblocks can concurrently replace or remove entries in the same kernfs_node->iattr->xattrs structure. Reachability requires shared kernfs nodes across multiple namespace-tagged superblocks and concurrent xattr writes; successful exploitation can disclose or modify kernel memory or panic the host.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in the Linux kernel 7.1 through 7.1.4 allows local users to escalate privileges through concurrent kernfs xattr operations. The kernfs_xattr_set and kernfs_vfs_user_xattr_set paths call simple_xattr_set while relying only on per-inode VFS locks, so namespace-distinct superblocks can concurrently replace or remove entries in the same kernfs_node->iattr->xattrs structure. Reachability requires shared kernfs nodes across multiple namespace-tagged superblocks and concurrent xattr writes; successful exploitation can disclose or modify kernel memory or panic the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74343
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
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?
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- Affected versionversion=7.1
- Affected versionversion=b32c4a213698ab351b44da2fd1b2a5976c7fa033 <6a07814ff643b5c8e1353d8c6229f52fde205cde
- Affected versionversion=b32c4a213698ab351b44da2fd1b2a5976c7fa033 <bf53db51359939755084d08156684ed649489592
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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