CVE-2026-89618 eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()
A missing initialization in the Linux kernel eventfs subsystem can cause a false warning and potential crash during memory pressure, leading to denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-89618?
CVE-2026-89618 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 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:
eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()
eventfs_create_dir() allocates the eventfs_inode and initializes it with init_ei(). But this does not initialize the eventfs_inode list_heads. If the eventfs_create_dir() fails due to memory pressure, it will call free_ei() before it initialized the lists, and that checks to make sure the eventfs_inode has no children. But because the list wasn't initialized, it will give a false warning.
Fix it by moving the list initialization into init_ei().
[ Rewrote change log ]
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89618?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89618?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-89618 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89618 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-100584, BELL-CVE-2026-89618, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89618, GHSA-jw9q-gp66-86rq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89618.