VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2026Updated 20 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-89996: Linux kernel · dma-buf: dma-heap: don't publish fd before copy_to_user() succeeds

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-89996

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-cr94-3ppf-3v5m

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38 23 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16 9 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 13 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1002.3 – 7.0.0-1008.9 6 affected builds	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 restructures the dma-heap ioctl allocation path to prevent fd publication before copy_to_user() succeeds. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes this fix. No changes to user API or heap-driver interfaces are required.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's dma-buf dma-heap subsystem allowed file descriptors (fd) to be published before a critical copy_to_user() operation succeeded. This could lead to fd and dma-buf reference leaks visible to other threads within the same process if the copy_to_user() failed. The issue was fixed by restructuring the allocation path to ensure fd publication only occurs after a successful copy_to_user(), preventing leaks and unsafe fd operations.

Impact

If exploited, this vulnerability could cause file descriptor leaks within a process, potentially leading to resource exhaustion or unintended sharing of dma-buf references among threads. However, no direct security impact such as privilege escalation or code execution is described. The leak occurs only when copy_to_user() fails, which is a rare condition triggered by specific memory protection changes.

Summary

The Linux kernel dma-buf dma-heap ioctl DMA_HEAP_IOCTL_ALLOC previously installed a file descriptor into the caller's fd table before the copy_to_user() call completed successfully. If copy_to_user() failed, userspace would not receive the fd number, but the fd and underlying dma-buf reference were already visible to other threads, causing a resource leak. Attempts to close the fd on failure were unsafe due to potential fd reuse by other threads. The fix reorders operations so that fd_install() is the last step after a successful copy_to_user(), ensuring no fd is published on failure. This prevents fd leaks and unsafe fd reuse scenarios without changing the user API or heap-driver interface.

GCVE source: db.gcve.eu
OSV ID: UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89996
Osv Schema Version: 1.7.0
Ecosystems: Ubuntu:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Oct 2026, 20:38 UTC

Technical details

References

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