CVE-2026-23199: Linux kernel · procfs: avoid fetching build ID while holding VMA lock
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:07 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 0% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 Feb 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 25.10linuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oraclepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: procfs: avoid fetching build ID while holding VMA lock Fix PROCMAP_QUERY to fetch optional build ID only after dropping mmap_lock or per-VMA lock, whichever was used to lock VMA under question, to avoid deadlock reported by syzbot: -> #1 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}: __might_fault+0xed/0x170 _copy_to_iter+0x118/0x1720 copy_page_to_iter+0x12d/0x1e0 filemap_read+0x720/0x10a0 blkdev_read_iter+0x2b5/0x4e0 vfs_read+0x7f4/0xae0 ksys_read+0x12a/0x250 do_syscall_64+0xcb/0xf80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f -> #0 (&sb->s_type->i_mutex_key#8){++++}-{4:4}: __lock_acquire+0x1509/0x26d0 lock_acquire+0x185/0x340 down_read+0x98/0x490 blkdev_read_iter+0x2a7/0x4e0 __kernel_read+0x39a/0xa90 freader_fetch+0x1d5/0xa80 __build_id_parse.isra.0+0xea/0x6a0 do_procmap_query+0xd75/0x1050 procfs_procmap_ioctl+0x7a/0xb0 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x18e/0x210 do_syscall_64+0xcb/0xf80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f other info that might help us debug this: Possible unsafe locking scenario: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- rlock(&mm->mmap_lock); lock(&sb->s_type->i_mutex_key#8); lock(&mm->mmap_lock); rlock(&sb->s_type->i_mutex_key#8); *** DEADLOCK *** This seems to be exacerbated (as we haven't seen these syzbot reports before that) by the recent: 777a8560fd29 ("lib/buildid: use __kernel_read() for sleepable context") To make this safe, we need to grab file refcount while VMA is still locked, but other than that everything is pretty straightforward. Internal build_id_parse() API assumes VMA is passed, but it only needs the underlying file reference, so just add another variant build_id_parse_file() that expects file passed directly. [akpm@linux-foundation.org: fix up kerneldoc]
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23199 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23199 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/b5cbacd7f86f4f62b8813688c8e73be94e8e1951 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5cbacd7f86f4f62b8813688c8e73be94e8e1951 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b9b97e6aeb534315f9646b2090d1a5024c6a4e82 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/cbc03ce3e6ce7e21214c3f02218213574c1a2d08 (opens in a new tab)