CVE-2026-53035 bpf, sockmap: Fix af_unix iter deadlock
A deadlock in the Linux kernel's BPF sockmap implementation allows local attackers to cause a system hang via recursive locking.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-53035?
CVE-2026-53035 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 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:
bpf, sockmap: Fix af_unix iter deadlock
bpf_iter_unix_seq_show() may deadlock when lock_sock_fast() takes the fast path and the iter prog attempts to update a sockmap. Which ends up spinning at sock_map_update_elem()'s bh_lock_sock():
WARNING: possible recursive locking detected test_progs/1393 is trying to acquire lock: ffff88811ec25f58 (slock-AF_UNIX){+...}-{3:3}, at: sock_map_update_elem+0xdb/0x1f0
but task is already holding lock: ffff88811ec25f58 (slock-AF_UNIX){+...}-{3:3}, at: __lock_sock_fast+0x37/0xe0
other info that might help us debug this: Possible unsafe locking scenario:
CPU0 ---- lock(slock-AF_UNIX); lock(slock-AF_UNIX);
*** DEADLOCK ***
May be due to missing lock nesting notation
4 locks held by test_progs/1393: #0: ffff88814b59c790 (&p->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: bpf_seq_read+0x59/0x10d0 #1: ffff88811ec25fd8 (sk_lock-AF_UNIX){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: bpf_seq_read+0x42c/0x10d0 #2: ffff88811ec25f58 (slock-AF_UNIX){+...}-{3:3}, at: __lock_sock_fast+0x37/0xe0 #3: ffffffff85a6a7c0 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: bpf_iter_run_prog+0x51d/0xb00
Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x5d/0x80 print_deadlock_bug.cold+0xc0/0xce __lock_acquire+0x130f/0x2590 lock_acquire+0x14e/0x2b0 _raw_spin_lock+0x30/0x40 sock_map_update_elem+0xdb/0x1f0 bpf_prog_2d0075e5d9b721cd_dump_unix+0x55/0x4f4 bpf_iter_run_prog+0x5b9/0xb00 bpf_iter_unix_seq_show+0x1f7/0x2e0 bpf_seq_read+0x42c/0x10d0 vfs_read+0x171/0xb20 ksys_read+0xff/0x200 do_syscall_64+0x6b/0x3a0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
Weakness: CWE-667
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53035?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53035?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-53035 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53035 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-53035, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53035, GHSA-9ppp-c797-fg56, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-53035, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-53035, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-53035 and 1 more.