# CVE-2026-97936: tracing: Fix memory corruption from the histogram stacktrace modifier

> A local attacker with tracing privileges can trigger memory corruption in the Linux kernel via histogram stacktrace modifiers, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104679, BELL-CVE-2026-97936, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97936, GHSA-7w7w-22gx-h2r2, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97936

## What is CVE-2026-97936?

CVE-2026-97936 is a memory corruption 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:

tracing: Fix memory corruption from the histogram stacktrace modifier

parse_field() sets HIST_FIELD_FL_STACKTRACE from the ".stacktrace"
modifier before it looks the field name up, and nothing afterwards
checks that the name resolved to a field which holds a stacktrace.
create_hist_field() picks HIST_FIELD_FN_STACK on the strength of the
field pointer alone, which reads a __data_loc word from the record and
follows its low 16 bits as an offset into the same record.
event_hist_trigger() takes the first word there as an entry count and
copies that many longs into a 31 entry array:

	n_entries = *stack;
	memcpy(entries, ++stack, n_entries * sizeof(unsigned long));

Neither end of that copy is bounded, and the count is whatever the event
holds at the offset, so any field will do:

  # cd /sys/kernel/tracing/events/sched/sched_process_fork
  # echo 'hist:keys=parent_pid.stacktrace' > trigger
  # (true)

  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008
  RIP: 0010:rb_insert_color+0x18/0x130
   timerqueue_linked_add+0x7e/0xd0
   enqueue_hrtimer+0x39/0xb0
   __hrtimer_run_queues+0x10f/0x1f0
   </IRQ>
  RIP: 0010:memcpy+0xc/0x30
   event_hist_trigger+0x165/0x690

The timer interrupt landed on the rbtree the copy had already run over.
No debug options are needed for this; KASAN reports the same write as an
out-of-bounds read of 13835058055416381440 bytes.

Documentation/trace/histogram.rst already states the rule, "must be a
long[] type", so enforce it once the name has been resolved. Names which
resolve to no field at all, "hitcount.stacktrace" and the common_*
pseudo-fields, are refused for the same reason: they hold no stacktrace
to read.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97936?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97936?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97936 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97936 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97936 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97936 is a memory corruption 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-2026-97936 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-2026-97936/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97936/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97936
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97936
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97936

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97936/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.