CVE-2026-72034: fhandle: reject detached mounts in capable_wrt_mount()

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
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: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-10-19
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fhandle: reject detached mounts in capable_wrt_mount() The recent fhandle RCU fix moved the mount namespace capability check into capable_wrt_mount(), so a non-NULL mnt_namespace survives the ns_capable() dereference. The helper still assumes the later READ_ONCE(mount->mnt_ns) must be non-NULL because may_decode_fh() checked is_mounted() first. That assumption is not stable. A detached mount from open_tree(..., OPEN_TREE_CLONE) can be dissolved on fput while open_by_handle_at() is between those checks, and umount_tree() can clear mount->mnt_ns. If the helper observes NULL, it dereferences mnt_ns->user_ns and panics. Return false when the RCU read observes a detached mount. This keeps the relaxed permission path conservative: a mount no longer attached to a namespace cannot authorize open_by_handle_at() access.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.11 — 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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