CVE-2026-89618: eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()

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: 2026-09-11 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei() eventfs_create_dir() allocates the eventfs_inode and initializes it with init_ei(). But this does not initialize the eventfs_inode list_heads. If the eventfs_create_dir() fails due to memory pressure, it will call free_ei() before it initialized the lists, and that checks to make sure the eventfs_inode has no children. But because the list wasn't initialized, it will give a false warning. Fix it by moving the list initialization into init_ei(). [ Rewrote change log ]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.6.18 before 6.6.157; 6.7 — fixed in 6.6.157, 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.6.157, 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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