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

namespace: unhash a dentry before detaching the mounts on it

unlink(), rmdir() and rename() remove the entry from the filesystem,
call detach_mounts() on the entry with the inode locked and then call
d_delete() once the inode is unlocked.

The thing is that between detach_mounts() and d_delete() the dentry is
still hashed and positive. But after detach_mounts() nothing covers the
dentry anymore. A lookup that finds this dentry in the dcache can
uncover what the mounts hid.

That's a problem when unlinking files or directories that are
mountpoints in other mount namespaces. Everybody who had the underlying
entry covered can race the detach_mount() call until d_delete() has run.

The race window isn't all that small. It encompasses namespace_unlock()
with a full synchronize_rcu_expedited() grace period and the
inode_unlock() of the entry.

In my experiments three walkers that kept trying read an overmounted
file in 11938 of the 16140 unlinks that removed its mountpoint from a
bind mount of the filesystem within a minute.

Fun fact, d_invalidate() has the same ordering problem but gets it
right. It unhashes the dentry first and detaches the mounts afterwards.
Let's do the same in __detach_mounts():

- A lookup that hasn't found the dentry yet misses it in the dcache and
waits for the directory lock that the caller holds until the name is
gone for good.

- A lockless lookup that found it already fails the mount_lock check
while the dentry still counts as a mountpoint and the d_seq check once
it doesn't, and retries.

This fixes the lockless path. We still need to fix the reference count
lookup in a follow-up patch.

So d_drop() the dentry. The dentry stays positive and held but can't be
found anymore. Then proceed with the detach and unlink.

Reproducer:

The reads were counted with the program below, three walkers for 60 s
in a VM with 4 CPUs. The race window is stretched with the debug patch
pasted here. fs.detach_race_walk_us sleeps in lookup_fast() once it
found a mountpoint dentry and before its mounts are crossed.
fs.detach_race_unlink_us sleeps in vfs_unlink() between detach_mounts()
and d_delete().

// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
/*
* unlink_covered: unlink a file that is a mountpoint in a detached copy of
* its mount, against lookups that open it through that copy.
*
* A is a tmpfs with the file f1 (content SECRET_F) and the plain file
* MARK_A. A' is an open_tree(OPEN_TREE_CLONE) copy of A with MARK_A bound
* on A'/f1, held through an O_PATH fd on its root once the tree fd is
* closed. Walkers open f1 through that fd while the driver unlinks A/f1,
* where nothing is mounted on it. A walker may read MARK_A or get ENOENT.
* A read of SECRET_F is a hit: the name was found after its mount was
* gone. The lockless walks use openat2(RESOLVE_CACHED).
*
* usage: unlink_covered [-t seconds] [-w walkers]
*/
#ifndef _GNU_SOURCE
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#endif
#include <errno.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdatomic.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/mount.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <linux/openat2.h>

#ifndef __NR_open_tree
#define __NR_open_tree 428
#endif
#ifndef __NR_move_mount
#define __NR_move_mount 429
#endif
#ifndef __NR_openat2
#define __NR_openat2 437
#endif
#ifndef OPEN_TREE_CLONE
#define OPEN_TREE_CLONE 1
#endif
#ifndef OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC
#define OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC O_CLOEXEC
#endif
#ifndef MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH
#define MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH 0x00000004
#endif

#define WORK "/tmp/uc"
#define ADIR WORK "/A"

static int duration = 60, nwalkers = 3;
static atomic_int stop, writer_waiting;
static pthread_rwlock_t cur_lock = PTHREAD_RWLOCK_INITIALIZER;
static int cur_fd = -1; /* the root of A', -1 wh
---truncated---
Published: 2026-10-23
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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Remediation

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History

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 21:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux linux
Vendors & Products Linux linux

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-367

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: namespace: unhash a dentry before detaching the mounts on it unlink(), rmdir() and rename() remove the entry from the filesystem, call detach_mounts() on the entry with the inode locked and then call d_delete() once the inode is unlocked. The thing is that between detach_mounts() and d_delete() the dentry is still hashed and positive. But after detach_mounts() nothing covers the dentry anymore. A lookup that finds this dentry in the dcache can uncover what the mounts hid. That's a problem when unlinking files or directories that are mountpoints in other mount namespaces. Everybody who had the underlying entry covered can race the detach_mount() call until d_delete() has run. The race window isn't all that small. It encompasses namespace_unlock() with a full synchronize_rcu_expedited() grace period and the inode_unlock() of the entry. In my experiments three walkers that kept trying read an overmounted file in 11938 of the 16140 unlinks that removed its mountpoint from a bind mount of the filesystem within a minute. Fun fact, d_invalidate() has the same ordering problem but gets it right. It unhashes the dentry first and detaches the mounts afterwards. Let's do the same in __detach_mounts(): - A lookup that hasn't found the dentry yet misses it in the dcache and waits for the directory lock that the caller holds until the name is gone for good. - A lockless lookup that found it already fails the mount_lock check while the dentry still counts as a mountpoint and the d_seq check once it doesn't, and retries. This fixes the lockless path. We still need to fix the reference count lookup in a follow-up patch. So d_drop() the dentry. The dentry stays positive and held but can't be found anymore. Then proceed with the detach and unlink. Reproducer: The reads were counted with the program below, three walkers for 60 s in a VM with 4 CPUs. The race window is stretched with the debug patch pasted here. fs.detach_race_walk_us sleeps in lookup_fast() once it found a mountpoint dentry and before its mounts are crossed. fs.detach_race_unlink_us sleeps in vfs_unlink() between detach_mounts() and d_delete(). // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 /* * unlink_covered: unlink a file that is a mountpoint in a detached copy of * its mount, against lookups that open it through that copy. * * A is a tmpfs with the file f1 (content SECRET_F) and the plain file * MARK_A. A' is an open_tree(OPEN_TREE_CLONE) copy of A with MARK_A bound * on A'/f1, held through an O_PATH fd on its root once the tree fd is * closed. Walkers open f1 through that fd while the driver unlinks A/f1, * where nothing is mounted on it. A walker may read MARK_A or get ENOENT. * A read of SECRET_F is a hit: the name was found after its mount was * gone. The lockless walks use openat2(RESOLVE_CACHED). * * usage: unlink_covered [-t seconds] [-w walkers] */ #ifndef _GNU_SOURCE #define _GNU_SOURCE #endif #include <errno.h> #include <fcntl.h> #include <pthread.h> #include <stdatomic.h> #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <string.h> #include <unistd.h> #include <sys/mount.h> #include <sys/stat.h> #include <sys/syscall.h> #include <linux/openat2.h> #ifndef __NR_open_tree #define __NR_open_tree 428 #endif #ifndef __NR_move_mount #define __NR_move_mount 429 #endif #ifndef __NR_openat2 #define __NR_openat2 437 #endif #ifndef OPEN_TREE_CLONE #define OPEN_TREE_CLONE 1 #endif #ifndef OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC #define OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC O_CLOEXEC #endif #ifndef MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH #define MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH 0x00000004 #endif #define WORK "/tmp/uc" #define ADIR WORK "/A" static int duration = 60, nwalkers = 3; static atomic_int stop, writer_waiting; static pthread_rwlock_t cur_lock = PTHREAD_RWLOCK_INITIALIZER; static int cur_fd = -1; /* the root of A', -1 wh ---truncated---
Title namespace: unhash a dentry before detaching the mounts on it
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-23T12:19:58.507Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.384Z

Link: CVE-2026-98981

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-23T13:17:19.890

Modified: 2026-10-23T13:17:19.890

Link: CVE-2026-98981

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-23T21:15:16Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-367

    Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition