# CVE-2026-23241: audit: add missing syscalls to read class

> Attackers can bypass audit logging rules by using specific extended attribute system calls, hiding file access activities from security monitoring.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23241, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23241, GHSA-c2fm-fx6j-95j7, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23241, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23241, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23241

## What is CVE-2026-23241?

CVE-2026-23241 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

audit: add missing syscalls to read class

The "at" variant of getxattr() and listxattr() are missing from the
audit read class. Calling getxattrat() or listxattrat() on a file to
read its extended attributes will bypass audit rules such as:

-w /tmp/test -p rwa -k test_rwa

The current patch adds missing syscalls to the audit read class.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23241?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23241?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23241 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23241 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23241 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23241 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 17 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23241 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23241/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23241/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23241
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23241
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23241

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23241/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.