VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98534: Linux kernel · ipe: fix use-after-free when auditing a newly loaded policy

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · 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.
Patch: Available – fixed in e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723, b72d6c72b4bfbc021e8e127fa13e0f27d09be737, 9814077275eca36ebf8d510d2f076d235ff9f51a +1

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 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.

What to do

Upgrade Linux kernel to e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723, b72d6c72b4bfbc021e8e127fa13e0f27d09be737, 9814077275eca36ebf8d510d2f076d235ff9f51a or 48f7d0233c3cc8d986d1177d0e5dd4af435e7265.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ f44554b5067b36c14cc91ed811fa1bd58baed34a, < e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723	Fixed in e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ f44554b5067b36c14cc91ed811fa1bd58baed34a, < b72d6c72b4bfbc021e8e127fa13e0f27d09be737	Fixed in b72d6c72b4bfbc021e8e127fa13e0f27d09be737
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ f44554b5067b36c14cc91ed811fa1bd58baed34a, < 9814077275eca36ebf8d510d2f076d235ff9f51a	Fixed in 9814077275eca36ebf8d510d2f076d235ff9f51a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ f44554b5067b36c14cc91ed811fa1bd58baed34a, < 48f7d0233c3cc8d986d1177d0e5dd4af435e7265	Fixed in 48f7d0233c3cc8d986d1177d0e5dd4af435e7265
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.12	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel. Users should update to the fixed versions identified by the commits e9015d32752fa228ef2f0e07fd93fc53a4a4c723, b72d6c72b4bfbc021e8e127fa13e0f27d09be737, 9814077275eca36ebf8d510d2f076d235ff9f51a, and 48f7d0233c3cc8d986d1177d0e5dd4af435e7265. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A use-after-free vulnerability was identified and fixed in the Linux kernel's ipe component related to auditing newly loaded policies. The issue occurs because the policy can be freed concurrently while still being used during audit, leading to potential memory corruption.

Impact

This vulnerability could lead to use-after-free conditions in kernel memory, potentially causing system instability or crashes. However, no known exploits in the wild have been reported. The impact is limited to affected kernel versions where the race condition exists.

Summary

The Linux kernel's ipe component had a use-after-free vulnerability triggered when auditing a newly loaded policy. Specifically, new_policy() audits the policy after ipe_new_policyfs_node() publishes it and releases the new directory's inode lock. A concurrent deletion can free the policy while ipe_audit_policy_load() is still accessing it. The fix involves auditing the successful load while holding the lock to prevent concurrent freeing during audit.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 10:53 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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