Kernel crash via premature root dentry publication
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux UFS driver allows local users with CAP_SYS_ADMIN to crash the kernel by mounting a crafted image. ufs_fill_super() publishes sb->s_root before ufs_read_cylinder_structures() succeeds, then failure clears sb->s_fs_info while teardown still dereferences UFS_SB(sb). The path requires a writable UFS mount of an image with an unreadable first cylinder group; UFS is not unprivileged-mountable, so the result is a host kernel oops rather than privilege gain.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux UFS driver allows local users with CAP_SYS_ADMIN to crash the kernel by mounting a crafted image. ufs_fill_super() publishes sb->s_root before ufs_read_cylinder_structures() succeeds, then failure clears sb->s_fs_info while teardown still dereferences UFS_SB(sb). The path requires a writable UFS mount of an image with an unreadable first cylinder group; UFS is not unprivileged-mountable, so the result is a host kernel oops rather than privilege gain.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97927
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 25, 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <55a4c98abb9694b067c6a031d11501f06b6b523c
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <785e523b6c1931d802cab9f85912f3e6c7028af1
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <8173e051a8acbb4ae6547be0436727944119e0b5
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a9804121d55aaa4319c1cac00b99794aa177dd6a
- Affected versionversion=2.6.12
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
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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