# CVE-2026-97594: landlock: Fix use-after-free of the source's parent directory

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel Landlock subsystem allows local attackers to trigger memory corruption via race conditions, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

- **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:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104747, BELL-CVE-2026-97594, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97594, GHSA-236x-phcf-6qmf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97594

## What is CVE-2026-97594?

CVE-2026-97594 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 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:

landlock: Fix use-after-free of the source's parent directory

current_check_refer_path() reads old_dentry->d_parent without holding a
reference nor a lock on it, and then dereferences it in
collect_domain_accesses() and in the audit record.

A reference on a child does not pin its parent: __d_move() reassigns
dentry->d_parent and drops the reference the child held on its former
parent.  hook_path_rename() is not affected because the rename path
calls lock_rename() before the hook, so the source cannot be reparented
under it.  hook_path_link() has no such protection: filename_linkat()
holds a reference on the source dentry but neither locks nor references
its parent, so a concurrent rename(2) can reparent the source while
security_path_link() runs, and the former parent can then be removed and
freed while the hook walks it.

A process can trigger this after entering a Landlock domain that handles
at least one filesystem access right.  The process can then race a
linkat(2) loop against rename(2) and rmdir(2):

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in collect_domain_accesses+0x278/0x290
  Read of size 4 at addr ffff888160bd53f4 by task llrepro2/549
   collect_domain_accesses+0x278/0x290
   current_check_refer_path+0x952/0x1120
   security_path_link+0x1be/0x320
   filename_linkat+0x342/0x6d0
   __x64_sys_linkat+0xfa/0x150
  Freed by task 562:
   kmem_cache_free+0x139/0x4c0
   i_callback+0x4b/0x80
   rcu_core+0x7dc/0x10a0

Take a reference on the dentry selected as the source parent, using
dget() for the common-mount-root case and dget_parent() otherwise.
Release it after the hierarchy walk and synchronous audit logging.

[mic: Clarify the caller, reachability, and reference handling]

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97594?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97594?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97594 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97594 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97594 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97594 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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-2026-97594 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-97594/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97594/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97594
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97594
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97594

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97594/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.