9.8
CRITICAL CVSS 3.1
CVE-2026-89643
audit: avoid dropping live tree ref on fsnotify rule autoremove
Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: avoid dropping live tree ref on fsnotify rule autoremove audit_del_rule() is used for both netlink deletion templates and internal fsnotify autoremove. The former passes a parsed template which owns a temporary tree reference; the latter passes the installed entry itself. The unconditional audit_put_tree() at the end of audit_del_rule() assumes the template case. For mixed AUDIT_DIR plus AUDIT_EXE rules, an fsnotify autoremove event therefore drops the installed rule's live tree reference. Repeating this across rules sharing the same tree can free the tree while another rule still references it, and a later autoremove dereferences the freed pathname while comparing rules. Move the temporary-tree put to audit_rule_change(), the caller that owns deletion templates. Keep it in the AUDIT_DEL_RULE cleanup so both successful deletion and -ENOENT still release the parser-owned tree. [PM: dropped unnecessary comment for line length reasons]

INFO

Published Date :

Sept. 11, 2026, 8:19 p.m.

Last Modified :

Sept. 14, 2026, 1:19 p.m.

Remotely Exploit :

Yes !

Source :

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-89643 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Linux linux_kernel
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
Score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Score Impact Score Source
CVSS 3.1 CRITICAL 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
Update the Linux kernel to resolve a reference counting issue in the audit subsystem.
  • Update the Linux kernel to the latest stable version.
  • Apply the provided patch for audit rule autoremove.
  • Rebuild and install the kernel with the fix.
  • Reboot the system to load the new kernel.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-89643 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-89643 weaknesses.

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2026-89643 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2026-89643 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Sep. 14, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Affected Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/89xxx/CVE-2026-89643.json">CVE-2026-89643</a>
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01b0ec8c397be65ff710777c97017ca1de56ef8e
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/695c85dc345a4e0292739f004c261bedef3f27e6
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9cac21f8eb82675ed19fb955b8bbb9dd14cc3d58
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b322cc7adcd2e6ec1594d187533a126506ab545c
  • CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Sep. 13, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
  • New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    Sep. 11, 2026

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: avoid dropping live tree ref on fsnotify rule autoremove audit_del_rule() is used for both netlink deletion templates and internal fsnotify autoremove. The former passes a parsed template which owns a temporary tree reference; the latter passes the installed entry itself. The unconditional audit_put_tree() at the end of audit_del_rule() assumes the template case. For mixed AUDIT_DIR plus AUDIT_EXE rules, an fsnotify autoremove event therefore drops the installed rule's live tree reference. Repeating this across rules sharing the same tree can free the tree while another rule still references it, and a later autoremove dereferences the freed pathname while comparing rules. Move the temporary-tree put to audit_rule_change(), the caller that owns deletion templates. Keep it in the AUDIT_DEL_RULE cleanup so both successful deletion and -ENOENT still release the parser-owned tree. [PM: dropped unnecessary comment for line length reasons]
    Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/89xxx/CVE-2026-89643.json">CVE-2026-89643</a>
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/583cf579b32d99e3fe4e9c8ecc4d852e3708fbec
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/636a99bab36ba27515363d325866c0273ac83b3e
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/783f0f0974c156aca630f4ffff248671082a098d
    Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cf37b61b5420fd4600fe78cf8c24da6e4d9bfe28
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.