CVE-2026-98543: bpf: fs/xattr: don't assume the inode is locked in path_unlink/path_rmdir

Published Oct 18, 2026
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: fs/xattr: don't assume the inode is locked in pathunlink/pathrmdir

bpflsmhasdinodelocked() makes the verifier rewrite bpf[set|remove]dentryxattr() to the locked variants, which assume that the caller already holds the inode's irwsem. The pathunlink and pathrmdir hooks are listed, but securitypathunlink() and securitypathrmdir() run before vfsunlink()/vfsrmdir() take the victim inode's irwsem, so a sleepable BPF LSM program attached to either hook mutates the victim's xattrs without the lock held.

Drop the two path hooks from dinodelockedhooks so that the verifier keeps the locking bpf[set|remove]dentryxattr() variants, which take the lock themselves.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Linux kernel

Event History

Oct 18, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:18 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:18 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·04:17 PM
Description

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