CVE-2026-64294: Linux kernel · mm: do file ownership checks with the proper mount idmap
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 7.0.0-1012.12~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1011.11~24.04.1, 7.0.0-31.31~24.04.1 +7
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A patch is available and included in updated Linux kernel packages for the affected Ubuntu releases. Users should update their systems to the fixed versions listed in the Ubuntu security advisories USN-8726-1 and USN-8727-1 and reboot to apply the fixes. Due to an ABI change, recompilation and reinstallation of third-party kernel modules may be required. No additional mitigation actions are indicated by the vendor.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm: do file ownership checks with the proper mount idmap Ever since idmapped mounts were introduced, inode ownership checks (for side-channel protection) in mincore() and madvise(MADV_PAGEOUT) were done against the nop_mnt_idmap, which completely ignores the file's mount's idmap. This results in odd edgecases like: 1) mount/bind-mount with an idmap userA:userB:1 2) userB runs an owner_or_capable() check on file that is owned by userA on-disk/in-memory, but owned by userB after idmap translation 3) owner_or_capable() mysteriously fails as the correct idmap wasn't supplied In the case of mincore/madvise MADV_PAGEOUT, this is usually benign, because file_permission(file, MAY_WRITE) will probably succeed, as it uses the proper idmap internally, but it does not need to be the case on e.g a 0444 file where even the owner itself doesn't have permissions to write to it. Since this is clearly not trivial to get right, introduce a file_owner_or_capable() that can carry the correct semantics, and switch the various users in mm to it. The issue was found by manual code inspection & an off-list discussion with Jan Kara.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64294 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/04ba248d02d9eaa3d9077b00a6134caa75fa3e90 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c942ad7df75925ee166e7f0fb36892d8dde376b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/744b23aa430d52f5c8e4dbff7d71496d6643bed2 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8344bdf0629457e532797b42d9d2bbf2a2900bbf (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e187bc02f8fa4226d62814592cf064ee4557c470 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-64294 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64294 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/e187bc02f8fa4226d62814592cf064ee4557c470 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8726-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8727-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8728-1 (opens in a new tab)