nstree: check listing permission before taking a namespace reference (CVE-2026-97971) | HOL Guard CVE

High · CVSS 7.8CVE-2026-97971

nstree: check listing permission before taking a namespace reference

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-97971 records a High severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in nstree: check listing permission before taking a namespace reference. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 25, 2026Updated Sep 25, 2026Source checked Sep 25, 2026First seen by HOL Sep 25, 2026Material review Sep 25, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High · CVSS 7.8
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 2 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 7.8. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Linux/Linuxgeneric	>=76b6f5dfb3fda76fce1f9990d6fa58adc711122b <9e673bf5d88aa898e52cef5c87058c3fa845bc71 \|\| >=76b6f5dfb3fda76fce1f9990d6fa58adc711122b <56ea4e86832d8abe8930394473566c194d189f85	9e673bf5d88aa898e52cef5c87058c3fa845bc71, 56ea4e86832d8abe8930394473566c194d189f85
Linux/Linuxgeneric	6.19	Not reported

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Linux/Linux, Linux/Linux.
Review the reported fix. Update Linux/Linux to 9e673bf5d88aa898e52cef5c87058c3fa845bc71 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 25, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 25, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Sep 25, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nstree: check listing permission before taking a namespace reference legitimize_ns() takes a reference on the candidate namespace before may_list_ns() has decided whether the caller may see it. The __free(ns_put) cleanup on the denied path can drop the last reference to a mount namespace while we still hold the rcu read lock, and put_mnt_ns() may sleep there. This is the same problem commit 2ec2aff3c8e2 ("ns: make sure reference are dropped outside of rcu lock") fixed for the put_user() path. Neither ns_requested() nor may_list_ns() needs a reference, both only look at the namespace type and at the caller's own namespaces, so do the checks first and take the reference last. Splat: Voluntary context switch within RCU read-side critical section! WARNING: kernel/rcu/tree_plugin.h:332 at rcu_note_context_switch+0x238/0x2a0, CPU#5: a/3442 CPU: 5 UID: 1000 PID: 3442 Comm: a Not tainted 7.0.0-30-generic #30-Ubuntu PREEMPT(lazy) RIP: 0010:rcu_note_context_switch+0x238/0x2a0 Call Trace: <TASK> __schedule+0xcf/0x650 schedule+0x27/0x90 schedule_preempt_disabled+0x15/0x30 __mutex_lock.constprop.0+0x550/0xaf0 __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x13/0x20 mutex_lock+0x3b/0x50 exp_funnel_lock+0xb2/0x260 synchronize_rcu_expedited+0xe7/0x220 namespace_unlock+0x26a/0x320 put_mnt_ns+0xd3/0x120 mntns_put+0xe/0x20 do_listns+0x13e/0x560 __do_sys_listns+0x126/0x2d0 __x64_sys_listns+0x20/0x30 x64_sys_call+0x2366/0x2390 do_syscall_64+0x105/0x5a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e </TASK>

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.