CVE-2026-98788: futex: Fix private hash use-after-free on resize

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: futex: Fix private hash use-after-free on resize poll_state_synchronize_rcu(mm->futex.phash.batches) is used by futex_ref_drop() to check that a grace period has passed since the current hash was published. This relies on batches referencing a grace period which started after the hash pointer was assigned. __futex_pivot_hash() sets mmph->batches before it replaces mmph->hash: scoped_guard(rcu) { mmph->batches = get_state_synchronize_rcu(); rcu_assign_pointer(mmph->hash, new); } The scoped_guard(rcu) doesn't stop new grace periods from starting, and if one starts between those two assignments, futex_ref_drop() can move forward while a reader still holds a pointer to the old hash. Fix things by setting mmph->batches after assigning mmph->hash. The scoped_guard(rcu) isn't needed, so let's drop that as well.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.17 — 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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