HIGH Introduced in 2.6.30
tracing OptionsFile UAF
CVE-2026-90013
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
KernelScan AI6.9MEDIUM
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Take trace_array reference when opening options file The options files do not take the trace_array reference for the options they represent. This could cause a use-after-free kernel crash if one of these files is opened by one task and another task removes the instance that the option is for. Because it doesn't take a reference upon opening, it will not stop the removal which will free the options descriptor that is being used. As the options are somewhat dynamic in their creation at boot up, each file represents a flag in the trace_array. The trace_array has an array of indexes to represent each of these flags that is stored in the trace_flags_index array. The address of the index array element is used to pass to the inode->i_private pointer. Then that element is read which holds the index (which represents the flag) and then the index is used to calculate the trace_array descriptor from its trace_flags_index array. One issue is that the index element can not be referenced until the trace_array's reference is taken. To handle this, create a new helper function called: trace_array_options_get() that will iterate all the existing trace_arrays in the ftrace_trace_arrays list (under the trace_types_lock), and compare the passed in address of the index element with the entire array of the trace_array's trace_flags_index array. If it matches, then up the corresponding trace_array's reference and return.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
A local attacker with access to the kernel tracing filesystem can trigger a use-after-free by racing an options file open against trace instance removal. This requires root or CAP_SYS_ADMIN privileges and winning a narrow race window, but can crash the kernel or potentially corrupt kernel memory.
Vulnerability analysis
The tracing subsystem creates per-instance options files that store a raw pointer into a trace instance's internal flag index array, but does not take a reference on that instance when the file is opened. If one task opens such a file while another task removes the corresponding trace instance, the instance's memory is freed while the first task still holds and dereferences the pointer, causing a use-after-free. The fix introduces a dedicated open handler that searches all existing trace instances under a lock to identify and pin the correct one before the file is used, along with a release handler that drops the reference on close. This is reachable locally by a user with write access to tracefs, which typically requires root or CAP_SYS_ADMIN, and exploitation requires winning a race between opening an options file and removing the instance.
Lifecycle
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Introduced | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.12 | 2.6.30 | 6.12.112 | 97ceaffbd672 |
| 6.18 | 2.6.30 | 6.18.52 | d0f37d77b9b4 |
| 7.2 | 2.6.30 | 7.2.5 | 64a41f4a9a96 |
| mainline | 2.6.30 | 7.3-rc2 | f2951ebd15c3 |