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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-89988: Linux kernel · kprobes: Protect kprobe_blacklist with RCU

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in 630ed8734a02b992e8a97538179c2ece42c5210f : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 13:04 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (Linux)CVSS 3.17.8
Patch
Available – fixed in 630ed8734a02b992e8a97538179c2ece42c5210f, 518d9b5568bb06f86e4434f7a30faa9612ea91ad, 8f406205003f741225f620f0e357ca0de71d45e3 +5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 16 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 30 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 630ed8734a02b992e8a97538179c2ece42c5210f
Fixed in
  • 630ed8734a02b992e8a97538179c2ece42c5210f
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 518d9b5568bb06f86e4434f7a30faa9612ea91ad
Fixed in
  • 518d9b5568bb06f86e4434f7a30faa9612ea91ad
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 8f406205003f741225f620f0e357ca0de71d45e3
Fixed in
  • 8f406205003f741225f620f0e357ca0de71d45e3
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 6e62cf983a2bd547e6bbd3f935539233e5f97f8f
Fixed in
  • 6e62cf983a2bd547e6bbd3f935539233e5f97f8f
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 5da247e4d1e8661d4d6f997101d59967e8994e32
Fixed in
  • 5da247e4d1e8661d4d6f997101d59967e8994e32
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 376e242429bf8539ef39a080ac113c8799840b13, < 5d97a13defc648c64d138145ace429b6a3d08943
Fixed in
  • 5d97a13defc648c64d138145ace429b6a3d08943

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 and has been applied in the Linux kernel source. The vulnerability is resolved by protecting the kprobe_blacklist with RCU synchronization primitives and safely reclaiming memory after a grace period. Users and administrators should update to a Linux kernel version that includes the fix identified by the listed commit hashes. No additional mitigations are specified beyond applying the official patch.

Description

CVE-2026-89988 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel affecting version 3.16. It involves unsafe traversal of the kprobe_blacklist without proper synchronization, leading to potential use-after-free conditions when modules are unloaded. The flaw arises because within_kprobe_blacklist() accesses the blacklist without holding the kprobe_mutex, which can cause dereferencing of freed memory. This function can be called in atomic or non-preemptible contexts where sleeping on kprobe_mutex is not possible. The vulnerability has been addressed by protecting the kprobe_blacklist with Read-Copy-Update (RCU) mechanisms to ensure safe concurrent access and memory reclamation.

References

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