CVE-2026-43472 Details
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: unshare: fix unshare_fs() handling There's an unpleasant corner case in unshare(2), when we have a CLONE_NEWNS in flags and current->fs hadn't been shared at all; in that case copy_mnt_ns() gets passed current->fs instead of a private copy, which causes interesting warts in proof of correctness] > I guess if private means fs->users == 1, the condition could still be true. Unfortunately, it's worse than just a convoluted proof of correctness. Consider the case when we have CLONE_NEWCGROUP in addition to CLONE_NEWNS (and current->fs->users == 1). We pass current->fs to copy_mnt_ns(), all right. Suppose it succeeds and flips current->fs->{pwd,root} to corresponding locations in the new namespace. Now we proceed to copy_cgroup_ns(), which fails (e.g. with -ENOMEM). We call put_mnt_ns() on the namespace created by copy_mnt_ns(), it's destroyed and its mount tree is dissolved, but... current->fs->root and current->fs->pwd are both left pointing to now detached mounts. They are pinning those, so it's not a UAF, but it leaves the calling process with unshare(2) failing with -ENOMEM _and_ leaving it with pwd and root on detached isolated mounts. The last part is clearly a bug. There is other fun related to that mess (races with pivot_root(), including the one between pivot_root() and fork(), of all things), but this one is easy to isolate and fix - treat CLONE_NEWNS as "allocate a new fs_struct even if it hadn't been shared in the first place". Sure, we could go for something like "if both CLONE_NEWNS *and* one of the things that might end up failing after copy_mnt_ns() call in create_new_namespaces() are set, force allocation of new fs_struct", but let's keep it simple - the cost of copy_fs_struct() is trivial. Another benefit is that copy_mnt_ns() with CLONE_NEWNS *always* gets a freshly allocated fs_struct, yet to be attached to anything. That seriously simplifies the analysis... FWIW, that bug had been there since the introduction of unshare(2) ;-/
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's unshare function can lead to incorrect handling of filesystem namespaces. This issue arises when the CLONE_NEWNS flag is used, but the current filesystem has not been shared. In such cases, the function passes the current filesystem reference to the copy_mnt_ns function instead of a private copy. This can create a situation where, after successfully copying the mount namespace, the function fails when trying to copy the cgroup namespace, leaving the process with references to detached mounts. This bug has existed since the introduction of the unshare function.
The vulnerability has been fixed in the Linux kernel. Users should upgrade to the latest version.
Metrics
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:
No CVSS 4.0 data is available for this CVE.
CVSS 3.x Severity and Vector Strings:
No data available for CVSS Version 2.0 on this CVE.
No SSVC data is available for this CVE.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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| URL | Source(s) | Tag(s) |
|---|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/42e21e74061b0ebbd859839f81acf10efad02a27 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c4b2243cb6c0755159bd567130d5e12e7b10d9f | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/845bf3c6963a52096d0d3866e4a92db77a0c03d8 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aa9ebc084505fb26dd90f4d7a249045aad152043 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af8f4be3b68ac8caa41c8e5ead0eeaf5e85e42d0 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0d99f60538ddb4a62ccaac2168d8f448965f083 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3ffc8f13034af895531a02c30b1fe3a34b46432 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d7963d6997fea86a6def242ac36198b86655f912 | kernel.org | Patch |
Weakness Enumeration
| CWE-ID | CWE Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-908 | Use of Uninitialized Resource | [email protected] |
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| linux linux kernel | >= 2.6.16.1, < 5.10.253 >= 5.11, < 5.15.203 >= 5.16, < 6.1.167 >= 6.2, < 6.6.130 >= 6.7, < 6.12.78 >= 6.13, < 6.18.19 >= 6.19, < 6.19.9 2.6.16 - 2.6.16 rc3 2.6.16 rc4 2.6.16 rc5 2.6.16 rc6 2.6.16 rc7 7.0 rc1 |
CPE
Remediation
| |
Change History
4 change records found show changes
| Date | Action | Recorded By |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | kernel.org |
| May 21, 2026 | Reanalysis | [email protected] |
| May 21, 2026 | Initial Analysis | [email protected] |
| May 8, 2026 | New CVE Received | kernel.org |