Kernel crash via ftrace reference race
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux kernel ftrace allows local users with tracefs access to crash the kernel by racing trace-instance removal. The set_ftrace_filter and set_ftrace_notrace open path reads ftrace_ops from inode private data before securing the associated trace_array reference, while concurrent rmdir can free that object. Triggering the race requires local access to create and remove an ftrace instance while its filter file is opened; successful exploitation crashes the kernel.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux kernel ftrace allows local users with tracefs access to crash the kernel by racing trace-instance removal. The set_ftrace_filter and set_ftrace_notrace open path reads ftrace_ops from inode private data before securing the associated trace_array reference, while concurrent rmdir can free that object. Triggering the race requires local access to create and remove an ftrace instance while its filter file is opened; successful exploitation crashes the kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-90002
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- 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?
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- Affected versionversion=3.15
- Affected versionversion=591dffdade9f07692a7dd3ed16830ec24e901ece <83fd7eca5ab0d3ac3f23bff889175d847e21af06
- Affected versionversion=591dffdade9f07692a7dd3ed16830ec24e901ece <9100191e5acb2e5ea2313f436667bb5fce129f47
- Affected versionversion=591dffdade9f07692a7dd3ed16830ec24e901ece <cee8f286794df916553d8d445eac5c323ec5b0f8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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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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