CVE-2026-98540: fprobe: Terminate the fgraph_data list when the reservation is not filled

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: 2026-10-18 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fprobe: Terminate the fgraph_data list when the reservation is not filled fprobe_fgraph_entry() reserves shadow stack space for every fprobe with an exit handler, but only fills it for those whose entry handler returns 0. fgraph_reserve_data() does not clear the area, so fprobe_return() parses the unused tail as headers left over from an earlier call, and an exit handler can run twice or despite its entry handler asking to skip it. Write a zero word after the last entry to terminate the walk. A zeroed slot does not decode to a NULL fprobe on the arches that encode the header into one unsigned long, since arch_decode_fprobe_header_fp() ORs in FPROBE_HEADER_MSB_PATTERN, so make read_fprobe_header() return NULL for a zeroed slot.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 7.1 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

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

References

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