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Report · Zero Day InitiativeAbout CVE-2026-98231Published

ZDI-26-837: Linux Kernel XFRM Subsystem Use-After-Free Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Source Zero Day Initiative

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98231· High

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:18 UTC

Severity
High

Rated High by Zero Day Initiative · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Patch
Available – fixed in 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1, 89fefad9f971bc637fb22373078144f2563c4be9, 84e378395494963b1e581cf223a7cbeec8c0e2d6 +4

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 6 Oct 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 29 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • >=6.6.44 <6.6.158
  • >=6.10.3 <6.11
Fixed in
  • 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1
  • 89fefad9f971bc637fb22373078144f2563c4be9
  • 84e378395494963b1e581cf223a7cbeec8c0e2d6
  • 75fc4561772e2f9811abf39ed10443e6f4a4bc6c
  • 39e41af3653ee45c985190dd97426f318918d201
  • 6.11
  • 6.6.158
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • =6.11
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

If you cannot patch yet, restricting local code execution capabilities and limiting user privileges can reduce risk.

Description

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux Kernel XFRM subsystem allows local attackers with low-privileged code execution to escalate privileges. The vulnerability is assigned CVE-2026-98231 and has a high severity rating of 7.8 by ZDI. Exploitation requires prior local code execution capability.

References

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