CVE-2026-81009: Linux kernel · io_uring/query: cap user size passed to copy_struct_to_user
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- 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.
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 Sep 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
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 fix is available that rejects user-supplied sizes larger than PAGE_SIZE in the io_uring query interface, preventing excessive zeroing of memory. Users should apply the official Linux kernel update that includes this fix. Since this is a kernel vulnerability, updating to a patched kernel version is the recommended remediation.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring/query: cap user size passed to copy_struct_to_user io_handle_query_entry() clamps hdr.size for the inbound copy_from_user() but keeps the original user value as usize. copy_struct_to_user() uses that usize and, when it is larger than the kernel result, clear_user()s the trailing bytes. As hdr.size is a __u32, a query can request nearly 4 GiB of zeroing, including on the error path where res_size stays 0. The interface is reachable without a ring via IORING_REGISTER_QUERY. Reject sizes larger than PAGE_SIZE, as recommended for copy_struct_* interfaces.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81009 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b8ad4981ecedb14c1fdd811ab977010b23933e6 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/417e02f7b6051765b91cf1289071882eebd172e0 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba77efee1b95b4ad7559b1cdbe7cd7fa36dca95b (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-81009 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-81009 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/ba77efee1b95b4ad7559b1cdbe7cd7fa36dca95b (opens in a new tab)