CVE-2026-98983 — unshare: don't drop active namespace references that were never taken

Affected: Linux

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

unshare: don't drop active namespace references that were never taken

Active references on the namespaces of an nsproxy are taken when the nsproxy is installed into a task in switch_task_namespaces() and copy_namespaces() and dropped again by put_nsproxy() through deactivate_nsproxy().

But ksys_unshare() calls put_nsproxy() on an nsproxy that was never installed when set_cred_ucounts() fails. The new namespaces of that nsproxy go from zero to minus one and the namespaces shared with the caller lose a reference that belongs to the nsproxy the caller keeps using:

WARNING: kernel/nscommon.c:171 at __ns_ref_active_put+0x1cd/0x230 nsproxy_ns_active_put deactivate_nsproxy ksys_unshare

Afterwards the namespaces the caller lives in aren't listed by listns() anymore. set_cred_ucounts() only fails when alloc_ucounts() can't allocate and it only allocates when the real uid of the caller differs from its effective uid.

Commit cefd55bd2159 ("nsproxy: fix free_nsproxy() and simplify create_new_namespaces()") separated the two cases on purpose. nsproxy_free() frees an nsproxy that was prepared but never installed and that's what a failed setns() uses in put_nsset(). Export it and use it for a failed unshare() as well.

USN-9018-1 — linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-ibm, linux-oem-7.0, linux-oracle vulnerabilities

Affected: Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux-aws, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux-gcp, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux-ibm, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux-oem-7.0, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS: linux-oracle

Several security issues were discovered in the Linux kernel. An attacker could possibly use these to compromise the system. This update corrects flaws in the following subsystems: - Network file systems library; - Stream parser; - ARM64 architecture; - PowerPC architecture; - RISC-V architecture; - S390 architecture; - User-Mode Linux (UML); - x86 architecture; - Block layer subsystem; - Android drivers; - Bluetooth drivers; - TPM device driver; - DPLL subsystem; - EDAC drivers; - GPIO subsystem; - GPU drivers; - HID subsystem; - IIO subsystem; - IIO ADC drivers; - InfiniBand drivers; - Input Device (Miscellaneous) drivers; - Multiple devices driver; - MemoryStick subsystem; - MMC subsystem; - MTD block device drivers; - Network drivers; - Ethernet bonding driver; - Mellanox network drivers; - STMicroelectronics network drivers; - Ethernet team driver; - MediaTek network drivers; - NVME drivers; - Device tree and open firmware driver; - Power sequencing drivers; - Voltage and Current Regulator drivers; - Real Time Clock drivers; - SCSI subsystem; - Greybus lights staging drivers; - Trusted Execution Environment drivers; - Thunderbolt and USB4 drivers; - TTY drivers; - Cadence USB3 driver; - USB Device Class drivers; - USB core drivers; - DesignWare USB2 driver; - DesignWare USB3 driver; - USB Gadget drivers; - USB Serial drivers; - USB Mass Storage drivers; - USB Type-C suppor…

Most recent entries from all

CVE-2026-98983 — unshare: don't drop active namespace references that were never taken

USN-9018-1 — linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-ibm, linux-oem-7.0, linux-oracle vulnerabilities