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CVE.org (no NVD analysis yet)· CNA Linux

CVE-2026-98258: posix-cpu-timers: Prevent freeing a timer which is queued on the expiry list

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 31/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.12% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 4336e3f47d9d516441066e9a65eaf076790d8d45, 9971dac1a77845ff467146915fcbb9170f6a8209, c21eaa72f02fc6e85621cbe09d303d8fb8bd39cd.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 4336e3f47d9d516441066e9a65eaf076790d8d45, 9971dac1a77845ff467146915fcbb9170f6a8209, c21eaa72f02fc6e85621cbe09d303d8fb8bd39cd or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-cpu-timers: Prevent freeing a timer which is queued on the expiry list Kijo analyzed another race in the POSIX CPU timer code: Commit bf635681c906 converted cpu_timer::firing from a tristate value to a boolean. This lost the distinction between "not owned by the firing list" and "still owned, but delivery was canceled". The resulting race is: expiry handler timer_settime() timer_delete() -------------- --------------- -------------- collect timer onto private firing list firing = true observes firing = true firing = false return TIMER_RETRY wait for handler observes firing = false finish deletion unhash and free timer resume list traversal read freed elist.next -> UAF The firing bit is clearly the wrong indicator since that commit. Check whether the timer is queued on the expiry list or not instead. If it is queued clear the firing bit to prevent signal delivery as before and return TIMER_RETRY so the caller unlocks the timer which allows the expiry code to make progress and remove it from the list.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Oct 6, 2026
Updated
Oct 19, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 2th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · Linux
7.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 6.13affected
    • bf635681c906ad056d1fda325de8d1c12c9f8201 and later · before 9971dac1a77845ff467146915fcbb9170f6a8209affected · git
    • bf635681c906ad056d1fda325de8d1c12c9f8201 and later · before 4336e3f47d9d516441066e9a65eaf076790d8d45affected · git
    • bf635681c906ad056d1fda325de8d1c12c9f8201 and later · before c21eaa72f02fc6e85621cbe09d303d8fb8bd39cdaffected · git
    • before 6.13not affected · semver
    • 6.18.54 and later · up to and including 6.18.*not affected · semver
    • 7.2.8 and later · up to and including 7.2.*not affected · semver
    • 7.3 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14linuxbefore 7.2.8-17.2.8-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-74705udp: fix potential use-after-free in tunnel segmentation
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74612veth: fix skb length accounting after XDP frag adjustment
    40Plan
  • CVE-2026-74475vxlan: use neigh_ha_snapshot() in route_shortcircuit()
    40Plan

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-98256Oct 6, 2026 · signal: Prevent exec() race
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-98257Oct 6, 2026 · rds: ib: use rds_conn_drop() on protocol version mismatch
    30Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-98259Oct 6, 2026 · fs/dax: check zero or empty entry before converting xarray entry
    0Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux4336e3f47d9d516441066e9a65eaf076790d8d45Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux9971dac1a77845ff467146915fcbb9170f6a8209Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxc21eaa72f02fc6e85621cbe09d303d8fb8bd39cdVendor (CNA)
debian:linux7.2.8-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. Fix recordedsame day
  3. TodayNov 1, 2026+26 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. CVSS— → 7.8
  2. Severity— → high
  3. Exploit maturity— → none
  4. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records