# CVE-2026-64057: afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel AFS filesystem symlink handling can lead to memory leaks or information disclosure.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64057, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64057, GHSA-8264-g9fh-vx2h, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64057

## What is CVE-2026-64057?

CVE-2026-64057 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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:

afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link()

The afs filesystem in the kernel doesn't do locking correctly for symbolic
links.  There are a number of problems:

 (1) It doesn't do any locking around afs_read_single() to prevent races
     between multiple ->get_link() calls, thereby allowing the possibility
     of leaks.

 (2) It doesn't use RCU barriering when accessing the buffer pointers
     during RCU pathwalk.

 (3) It can race with another thread updating the contents of the symlink
     if a third party updated it on the server.

Fix this by the following means:

 (0) Move symlink handling into its own file as this makes it more
     complicated.

 (1) Take the validate_lock around afs_read_single() to prevent races
     between multiple ->get_link() calls.

 (2) Keep a separate copy of the symlink contents with an rcu_head.  This
     is always going to be a lot smaller than a page, so it can be
     kmalloc'd and save quite a bit of memory.  It also needs a refcount
     for non-RCU pathwalk.

 (3) Split the symlink read and write-to-cache routines in afs from those
     for directories.

 (4) Discard the I/O buffer as soon as the write-to-cache completes as this
     is a full page (plus a folio_queue).

 (5) If there's no cache, discard the I/O buffer immediately after reading
     and copying if there is no cache.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64057?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64057?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64057 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64057 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-2026-64057 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64057 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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-2026-64057 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-2026-64057/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64057/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64057
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64057
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64057

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64057/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.