CVE-2026-98394

CPU exhaustion via zero-length receive busy-wait

Published Oct 14, 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026

Busy-wait in Linux Kernel AF_UNIX allows local users to consume CPU through a zero-length blocking receive with MSG_PEEK. In net/unix/af_unix.c, unix_stream_read_generic() continues its receive loop when manage_oob() returns NULL without accounting for a zero-length buffer. The condition requires CONFIG_AF_UNIX_OOB and a trailing out-of-band socket buffer; the reported consequence is CPU consumption rather than a crash or data access.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Busy-wait in Linux Kernel AF_UNIX allows local users to consume CPU through a zero-length blocking receive with MSG_PEEK. In net/unix/af_unix.c, unix_stream_read_generic() continues its receive loop when manage_oob() returns NULL without accounting for a zero-length buffer. The condition requires CONFIG_AF_UNIX_OOB and a trailing out-of-band socket buffer; the reported consequence is CPU consumption rather than a crash or data access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-98394
Published
Oct 14, 2026
Updated
Oct 14, 2026
Vendor
Linux Foundation
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 14, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 14, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <3d3c7a3df66b2ca3d2cd1a2a0c37eb701feba713
  2. Affected versionversion=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <6e5ee08eb5858d175da6768d75d163817b6a9d4a
  3. Affected versionversion=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <c81c5be3826c8467945b964d0cf7f7b3d65461db
  4. Affected versionversion=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <d5dd55b316ca229a4cbf11729483ba5bb57233e7
  5. Affected versionversion=5.15

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Linux Foundation · Linux Kernelversion=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <3d3c7a3df66b2ca3d2cd1a2a0c37eb701feba713; version=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <6e5ee08eb5858d175da6768d75d163817b6a9d4a; version=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <c81c5be3826c8467945b964d0cf7f7b3d65461db; version=314001f0bf927015e459c9d387d62a231fe93af3 <d5dd55b316ca229a4cbf11729483ba5bb57233e7; version=5.15

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

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No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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