Freed-memory dereference via kprobe blacklist race
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux kernel kprobes allows attackers to dereference freed memory during concurrent module unloading and blacklist checks. The __within_kprobe_blacklist() path walks kprobe_blacklist without synchronization while kprobe_remove_area_blacklist() deletes entries and immediately frees them with kfree(). Reaching the race requires a blacklist lookup concurrent with module unloading; published material does not identify an unprivileged trigger or bound the consequence beyond invalid memory access.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux kernel kprobes allows attackers to dereference freed memory during concurrent module unloading and blacklist checks. The __within_kprobe_blacklist() path walks kprobe_blacklist without synchronization while kprobe_remove_area_blacklist() deletes entries and immediately frees them with kfree(). Reaching the race requires a blacklist lookup concurrent with module unloading; published material does not identify an unprivileged trigger or bound the consequence beyond invalid memory access.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89988
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 16, 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=3.16
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <0c4256196b3a105307e2235fbfd85e768bbcdd0f
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <518d9b5568bb06f86e4434f7a30faa9612ea91ad
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <5da247e4d1e8661d4d6f997101d59967e8994e32
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <630ed8734a02b992e8a97538179c2ece42c5210f
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <6e62cf983a2bd547e6bbd3f935539233e5f97f8f
- Affected versionversion=376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13 <8f406205003f741225f620f0e357ca0de71d45e3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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