Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-97996)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-97996). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
virtio: fix use-after-free in unregister_virtio_device()
device_unregister() is device_del() plus put_device(). When the caller
holds no extra reference, that drops the last one and runs the release
callback, which for several transports frees the memory the embedded
struct virtio_device sits in. unregister_virtio_device() then calls
virtio_debug_device_exit(), which reads dev->debugfs_dir out of the freed
object.
Affected transports are the ones whose release callback frees and whose
remove path takes no reference: virtio_mmio, virtio_vdpa, virtio_uml,
mlxbf-tmfifo and virtio_ccw. virtio_pci is unaffected because
virtio_pci_remove() brackets the call with get_device() and put_device().
Remove the debugfs entries before the device can go away. They are only
accessed through the protected debugfs interface, so
debugfs_remove_recursive() waits for in-progress file operations before
returning. Tearing them down while the device is still alive is therefore
safe.
Reproduced on User-Mode Linux with CONFIG_KASAN and CONFIG_VIRTIO_DEBUG
by unbinding a virtio-uml device:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in virtio_debug_device_exit+0x36/0x4d
Read of size 8 at addr 00000000616e0b10 by task init/1
__asan_report_load8_noabort
virtio_debug_device_exit+0x36/0x4d
unregister_virtio_device+0x48/0x75
virtio_uml_remove
platform_remove
device_release_driver_internal
unbind_store
Freed by task 1:…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-97996 has been found in Linux kernel.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-97996" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-97996 (Linux kernel)
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
References
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com