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CVE-2026-90002
ftrace: Take trace_array reference before accessing its ftrace_ops
Published 2026-09-16 (33 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem include/linux. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-90002 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | vulnerable | 6.1.190-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6568-1 · 2026-10-16 · text | 6.12.113-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6568-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-16, in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
The trace instance files set_ftrace_filter and set_ftrace_notrace was updated to work with specific trace instances (trace_arrays). The issue is that when these files are opened, there is a small race window where it will use the ftrace_ops from the inode->private pointer to get a reference to the trace_array and then take its reference. The problem is that the ftrace_ops itself could be freed. If the rmdir on the instance happens at the same time the set_ftrace_filter file is opened, the rmdir could have also freed the ftrace_ops and referencing it will cause a use-after-free bug and crash the kernel. Instead, pass in the trace_array as the file private data (NULL for the top level instance), and then pass both the trace_array and the ftrace_ops to the ftrace_regex_open() function. If the trace_array is NULL, then it just uses the ftrace_ops without the need to take its reference (like normal). If the ftrace_ops is NULL, that is only the case for the top level instance and the global_ops can be used. This allows the trace_array to have its reference incremented before touching the ftrace_ops that could also be freed when the instance is.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
include/linux/ftrace.h
kernel/trace/ftrace.c
kernel/trace/trace.h
kernel/trace/trace_functions.c
kernel/trace/trace_stack.c
- What this is
- FUNCTION HOOKS (FTRACE)MAINTAINERS section matched on include/*/*ftrace* · linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_FUNCTION_TRACER|CONFIG_RETHOOK|CONFIG_RING_BUFFER|CONFIG_TRACEPOINTS|CONFIG_TRACE_CLOCK|CONFIG_TRACING' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormYnot built on arm64/arm64, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieYnot built on arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp
- forky, sidYnot built on arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae
- Y
- built in where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_FUNCTION_TRACER, CONFIG_RETHOOK, CONFIG_RING_BUFFER, CONFIG_TRACEPOINTS, CONFIG_TRACE_CLOCK, CONFIG_TRACING
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-09-16 (33 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.17%, higher than 6.0% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- include/linux
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 3.15 | 6.12.112 | 177cd8966325 |
| 3.15 | 6.18.52 | 83fd7eca5ab0 |
| 3.15 | 7.2.5 | cee8f286794d |
| 3.15 | 7.3 | 9100191e5acb |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSA-6568-1 | 2026-10-16 | trixie 6.12.113-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The UAF is reached only by a local open() of an instance set_ftrace_filter/set_ftrace_notrace racing rmdir of that tracing instance under /sys/kernel/tracing/instances; there is no network or adjacent-protocol path into ftrace_filter_open().
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker drives both sides: mkdir an instance, open its filter file on one thread, and rmdir it on another. instance_rmdir drops inode locks and kfree()s ftrace_ops before unlinking the files, so the race is retryable with no condition outside attacker control.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- ftrace_regex_open()/instance mkdir/rmdir check only LOCKDOWN_TRACEFS (off by default) and DAC, with no capable() call. Android/Perfetto, ChromeOS, and distro tracing-group gid= mounts routinely grant unprivileged users write on /sys/kernel/tracing/instances.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker performs mkdir, concurrent open of set_ftrace_filter/set_ftrace_notrace, and rmdir entirely from their own threads; no victim mount, click, or other-user action is required.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The use-after-free is of a kmalloc'd struct ftrace_ops in the host kernel heap; any privilege escalation stays within the kernel's own security authority and does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- This is a use-after-free of heap-allocated ftrace_ops: open() reads ops->private, ops->flags, and ops->func_hash from the freed object, so after slab reclaim/spray those fields become attacker-controlled and yield an arbitrary kernel read.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- ftrace_ops_init() writes flags, func_hash, and a mutex into the freed object and later mutex_lock()s ops->func_hash->regex_lock; with spray this is an arbitrary-write primitive, and ftrace_ops also carries hijackable function pointers (func, ops_func).
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Dereferencing the freed ftrace_ops (ops->private, flags, func_hash) on the open-versus-rmdir race reliably oopses or panics the kernel, as described in the fix, and can be re-triggered by repeating instance create/open/rmdir.