CVE-2026-68146: ftrace: Add global mutex to serialize trace_parser access

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-10 · updated 2026-08-23

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ftrace: Add global mutex to serialize trace_parser access In ftrace, the trace_parser structure is allocated and initialized when a trace file is opened, and is subsequently used across write and release handlers to parse user input. The affected handler paths and their specific functions are: - Open paths: ftrace_regex_open(), ftrace_graph_open() - Write paths: ftrace_regex_write(), ftrace_graph_write() - Release paths: ftrace_regex_release(), ftrace_graph_release() If userspace opens a trace file descriptor and shares it across multiple threads, concurrent write calls will race on the parser's internal state, specifically the 'idx', 'cont', and 'buffer' fields, leading to corrupted input or undefined behavior. Fix this by adding a global mutex, parser_lock, to serialize all access to trace_parser across write and release paths, preventing concurrent corruption of parser state.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 2.6.32 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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