Linux hwe edge: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: preserve task restrictions across exec Per-task restrictions apply to… (CVE-2026-80713)

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel io_uring subsystem (CVE-2026-80713) relates to the handling of per-task restrictions across exec system calls. Normally, restrictions apply to all io_uring rings created by a task and should persist across exec. However, the exec cancellation path called __io_uring_free(), which freed both the task context and the per-task restriction, resulting in unrestricted rings created after exec. The patch splits the task context cleanup into io_uring_free_tctx() for exec cancellation, preserving restrictions, while __io_uring_free() remains for final cleanup. This prevents the loss of restrictions and potential privilege escalation or unauthorized access via unrestricted io_uring rings.

The vulnerability allows a task to drop io_uring restrictions after an exec call, potentially enabling creation of unrestricted io_uring rings. This can lead to elevated privileges or unauthorized operations within the kernel context. The CVSS score of 8.4 indicates high impact on confidentiality and integrity, though availability is not affected. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to properly preserve per-task restrictions across exec calls by splitting the task context cleanup functions. Users should update to the patched kernel versions once available from their Linux distribution vendors. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on applying the official kernel updates. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed here; check vendor advisories for the latest patch information.