CVE-2026-63808
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: exfat: fix potential use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry() In exfat_find_dir_entry(), the buffer_head obtained from exfat_get_dentry() is released with brelse(bh) before the…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.53%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: exfat: fix potential use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry() In exfat_find_dir_entry(), the buffer_head obtained from exfat_get_dentry() is released with brelse(bh) before the fall-through TYPE_EXTEND branch reads the directory entry through ep (which points into bh->b_data): brelse(bh); if (entry_type == TYPE_EXTEND) { ... len = exfat_extract_uni_name(ep, entry_uniname); ... } After brelse() drops our reference, nothing guarantees that the underlying page backing bh->b_data remains valid for the subsequent exfat_extract_uni_name() read. This is the same pattern fixed in commit fc961522ddbd ("exfat: Fix potential use after free in exfat_load_upcase_table()"). Move brelse(bh) so it runs after ep is no longer dereferenced on each branch. Confirmed on QEMU x86_64 with CONFIG_KASAN=y + CONFIG_DEBUG_PAGEALLOC=y + CONFIG_PAGE_POISONING=y on linux-next, using a crafted exFAT image (long filename with same-hash collisions forcing the TYPE_EXTEND path). With a debug-only invalidate_bdev() inserted between brelse(bh) and the ep read to make the stale-deref window deterministic, the unpatched kernel faults: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry+0x133b/0x15a0 BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff88801a5fa0c2 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:exfat_find_dir_entry+0x1188/0x15a0 With this patch applied, the same instrumented harness completes cleanly under the same sanitizer stack. I have not reproduced a crash on an uninstrumented kernel under ordinary reclaim; the instrumented A/B establishes the lifetime violation and that the patch closes it, not an unaided triggerability claim.
- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.53% probability · 43th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Source
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06c4e1e9967d332ac33ba38b7819851089ff9359
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f5f8ee9917cc2b9076ac533492d8a200edcabb8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d101016d5e587f820b3ae2d5bb6770d86342649
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/708b97e792945d3e4653939fd3405d71a61ad065
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e0abc17fbd7e305802e84fe98b4950d50f9c433
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/adfacfbaeae2cb760f492357cc36b41f84ef7f86
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e48f413c2815787b8cade2795e194e3c4cd782ef
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6f1a11cfb808441a43ffae9b476cc135732cd27
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.