# CVE-2026-64262: fuse-uring: end fuse_req on io-uring cancel task work

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's fuse-uring module causes a denial of service by leaking references and stalling background operations when io_uring tasks are cancelled.

- **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:** 25 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64262, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64262, GHSA-fxm4-5828-j89m, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64262, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64262

## What is CVE-2026-64262?

CVE-2026-64262 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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:

fuse-uring: end fuse_req on io-uring cancel task work

When io_uring delivers task work with tw.cancel set (PF_EXITING,
PF_KTHREAD fallback, or percpu_ref_is_dying on the ring context),
fuse_uring_send_in_task() takes the cancel branch, assigns
-ECANCELED, and falls through to fuse_uring_send(). That path only
flips the entry to FRRS_USERSPACE and completes the io_uring cmd;
it never discharges the ring entry's owning reference to the
fuse_req that fuse_uring_add_req_to_ring_ent() handed it at
dispatch time.

    fuse_uring_send_in_task()
      tw.cancel == true
        err = -ECANCELED
      fuse_uring_send(ent, cmd, err, issue_flags)
        ent->state = FRRS_USERSPACE
        list_move(&ent->list, &queue->ent_in_userspace)
        ent->cmd = NULL
        io_uring_cmd_done(-ECANCELED)
        /* ent->fuse_req still set, req still hashed */

The fuse_req stays linked on fpq->processing[hash] and
fuse_request_end() is never invoked. The originating syscall
thread blocks in D-state in request_wait_answer() until
fuse_abort_conn() runs, which can be the entire connection
lifetime. For FR_BACKGROUND requests fc->num_background is never
decremented either, so repeated cancels inflate the counter until
max_background is hit and all later background ops stall. tw.cancel does
not imply a connection abort (e.g. a single io_uring worker thread exits
while the fuse connection stays up), so this cannot be left for
fuse_abort_conn() to clean up.

Ending the req but still routing the entry through fuse_uring_send()
is not enough: that leaves a req-less entry on ent_in_userspace, and
ent_list_request_expired() dereferences ent->fuse_req unconditionally
on the head of that list, which would then NULL-deref.

Fix the cancel branch to release the entry directly. Remove it from the
queue, complete the io_uring cmd, end the fuse_req, free the entry, and
drop its queue_refs (waking the teardown waiter if it was the last).

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64262?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64262?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64262 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64262 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-2026-64262 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64262 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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-2026-64262 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-2026-64262/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64262/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64262
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64262
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64262

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64262/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.