Kernel memory corruption via tape open/remove race
Published Oct 28, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux's SCSI tape driver allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by racing device opens with removal. In drivers/scsi/st.c, st_remove() releases the final tape reference before removing its st_index_idr entry, allowing st_open() to increment a reference count in freed memory. Triggering requires access to the tape device and concurrent removal; the reported result is an invalid kernel-memory write, not demonstrated privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux's SCSI tape driver allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by racing device opens with removal. In drivers/scsi/st.c, st_remove() releases the final tape reference before removing its st_index_idr entry, allowing st_open() to increment a reference count in freed memory. Triggering requires access to the tape device and concurrent removal; the reported result is an invalid kernel-memory write, not demonstrated privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-99156
- Published
- Oct 28, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 28, 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=3.7
- Affected versionversion=6c648d95a6af4a79241a916871df17c84c68ea20 <18a0e3733ce38718688e813e5e2d1106bd4830e5
- Affected versionversion=6c648d95a6af4a79241a916871df17c84c68ea20 <71caf7f84bd62a4bf91cc95abd2de690afb8d15f
- Affected versionversion=6c648d95a6af4a79241a916871df17c84c68ea20 <a1647b653549ff29f0422a63eabf329b842f3822
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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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
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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