CVE-2020-14381 Use after free in kernel

What is CVE-2020-14381?

CVE-2020-14381 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Dec 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel’s futex implementation. This flaw allows a local attacker to corrupt system memory or escalate their privileges when creating a futex on a filesystem that is about to be unmounted. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to confidentiality, integrity, as well as system availability.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-14381?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2020-14381?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2020-14381 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-14381 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as A-175193031, ASB-A-175193031, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-14381, GHSA-69w4-9w32-v3qh, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-14381.