VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2026Updated 24 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98978: Linux kernel · namespace: never expire a locked mount

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.4 High · fixed in f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:18 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.4High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d, d23265a12e4991ce7aedce670c0b6b598cadb644, 6b8dc3713a76346d212abab46cbfc8d7070f534c

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 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 f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d, d23265a12e4991ce7aedce670c0b6b598cadb644 or 6b8dc3713a76346d212abab46cbfc8d7070f534c.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5ff9d8a65ce80efb509ce4e8051394e9ed2cd942, < f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d	Fixed in f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5ff9d8a65ce80efb509ce4e8051394e9ed2cd942, < d23265a12e4991ce7aedce670c0b6b598cadb644	Fixed in d23265a12e4991ce7aedce670c0b6b598cadb644
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5ff9d8a65ce80efb509ce4e8051394e9ed2cd942, < 6b8dc3713a76346d212abab46cbfc8d7070f534c	Fixed in 6b8dc3713a76346d212abab46cbfc8d7070f534c
LinuxLinux	Affected =3.12	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

This vulnerability has been fixed in the Linux kernel. Users and administrators should update to the fixed kernel versions identified by the commits f78ddcc872248c7aa1d7e904928441a0be4c6d5d, d23265a12e4991ce7aedce670c0b6b598cadb644, and 6b8dc3713a76346d212abab46cbfc8d7070f534c. No other mitigation is necessary as the fix prevents locked mounts from being expired independently.

Description

CVE-2026-98978 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel related to the handling of locked mounts in namespaces. The flaw involves the expiration logic of locked mounts, where a locked mount could be improperly expired if it is beneath an unlocked ancestor mount, potentially revealing protected files and directories. The issue has been fixed by ensuring locked mounts are never expired independently and only die together with their parent mounts.

Impact

An attacker with the ability to manipulate mounts within a user namespace could cause a locked mount to be expired improperly, leading to the exposure of files and directories that should remain hidden. This compromises confidentiality (high impact on confidentiality) and integrity (high impact on integrity) of the filesystem namespace. The vulnerability does not affect availability. The CVSS score is 8.4 (high), reflecting local attack vector with low complexity, requiring low privileges, no user interaction, and scope change with high confidentiality and integrity impact.

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What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 09:44 UTC

Technical details

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