{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-68096","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","state":"PUBLISHED","assignerShortName":"Linux","dateReserved":"2026-07-30T09:28:09.368Z","datePublished":"2026-08-10T11:58:09.951Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-23T12:45:47.969Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"providerMetadata":{"orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux","dateUpdated":"2026-08-23T12:45:47.969Z"},"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\naudit: fix recursive locking deadlock in audit_dupe_exe()\n\nA deadlock occurs in the audit subsystem when duplicating\nexecutable-related rules.\n\nWhen a file is moved (e.g., via do_renameat2()), the VFS layer locks\nthe parent directory (I_MUTEX_PARENT), which synchronously triggers an\nfsnotify_move event. If an existing executable audit rule matches the\nfile being moved, the audit subsystem catches this event and calls\naudit_dupe_exe() to duplicate the watch and update the rule. Then,\naudit_alloc_mark() would call kern_path_parent() to resolve the path,\nleading to a blind attempt to acquire the exact same I_MUTEX_PARENT lock\nalready held by the task, resulting in the following recursive locking\ndeadlock:\n\n ============================================\n WARNING: possible recursive locking detected\n 6.12.0-55.27.1.el10_0.x86_64+debug #1 Not tainted\n --------------------------------------------\n mv/5099 is trying to acquire lock:\n ffff888132845358 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1){+.+.}-{3:3},\n at: __kern_path_locked+0x10a/0x2f0\n\n but task is already holding lock:\n ffff888132846b58 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1){+.+.}-{3:3},\n at: lock_two_directories+0x13f/0x2b0\n\n other info that might help us debug this:\n  Possible unsafe locking scenario:\n\n        CPU0\n        ----\n   lock(&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1);\n   lock(&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1);\n\n  *** DEADLOCK ***\n\n  May be due to missing lock nesting notation\n\n  6 locks held by mv/5099:\n  #0: ffff888112a9c440 (sb_writers#13)\n  at: do_renameat2+0x34c/0xbc0\n  #1: ffff888112a9c790 (&type->s_vfs_rename_key#3)\n  at: do_renameat2+0x415/0xbc0\n  #2: ffff888132846b58 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1)\n  at: lock_two_directories+0x13f/0x2b0\n  #3: ffff888132845358 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/5)\n  at: lock_two_directories+0x175/0x2b0\n  #4: ffffffffb3a1fb10 (&fsnotify_mark_srcu)\n  at: fsnotify+0x454/0x28a0\n  #5: ffffffffaf886230 (audit_filter_mutex)\n  at: audit_update_watch+0x36/0x11e0\n\n stack backtrace:\n Call Trace:\n  <TASK>\n  dump_stack_lvl+0x6f/0xb0\n  print_deadlock_bug.cold+0xbd/0xca\n  validate_chain+0x83a/0xf00\n  __lock_acquire+0xcac/0x1d20\n  lock_acquire.part.0+0x11b/0x360\n  down_write_nested+0x9f/0x230\n  __kern_path_locked+0x10a/0x2f0\n  kern_path_locked+0x26/0x40\n  audit_alloc_mark+0xfb/0x4f0\n  audit_dupe_exe+0x6c/0xe0\n  audit_dupe_rule+0x6c2/0xc00\n  audit_update_watch+0x4cc/0x11e0\n  audit_watch_handle_event+0x12c/0x1b0\n  send_to_group+0x5d0/0x8b0\n  fsnotify+0x615/0x28a0\n  fsnotify_move+0x1d8/0x630\n  vfs_rename+0xdcd/0x1df0\n  do_renameat2+0x9d4/0xbc0\n  __x64_sys_renameat+0x192/0x260\n  do_syscall_64+0x92/0x180\n  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e\n RIP: 0033:0x7f0491fe8c4e\n Code: 0f 1f 40 00 48 8b 15 c1 e1 16 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff\n c3 66 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 49 89 ca b8 08 01 00 00 0f 05 <48>\n 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 0a c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 48 8b 15 89\n RSP: 002b:00007ffc7210bf38 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000108\n RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f0491fe8c4e\n RDX: 0000000000000003 RSI: 00007ffc7210e6c8 RDI: 00000000ffffff9c\n RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001\n R10: 00005575eb2dae2a R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00005575eb2dae2a\n R13: 00007ffc7210e6c8 R14: 0000000000000003 R15: 00000000ffffff9c\n  </TASK>\n\nThe aforementioned deadlock can be consistently reproduced by running\nthe script below:\n\n audit-dupe-exe-deadlock.sh\n --------------------------\n #!/bin/bash\n auditctl -D\n mkdir -p /tmp/foo\n touch /tmp/file\n auditctl -a always,exit -F exe=/tmp/file -F path=/tmp/file -S all -k dr\n mv /tmp/file /tmp/foo/file\n rm -Rf /tmp/foo\n\nThis patch fixes the issue by introducing struct audit_watch_ctx to pass\nthe fsnotify event context down to audit_alloc_mark(). By utilizing the\nalready-resolved directory inode provided by the event, we bypass the\nkern_path_parent() path resol\n---truncated---"}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","baseScore":7.5,"baseSeverity":"HIGH"},"scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"AV:N - The deadlock is triggered when vfs_rename() emits fsnotify_move() during rename processing; on NFS (nfsd) and SMB (ksmbd) servers a remote client rename request reaches this same synchronous audit_update_watch()->audit_dupe_exe()->audit_alloc_mark()->kern_path_parent() path, not only local renameat().\nAC:L - Once an audit rule combining exe= and path= watches exists, the fix commit shows the recursive directory-lock deadlock is consistently reproduced by a simple rename/move; the attacker controls when the rename occurs and no race or special memory layout is required.\nPR:N - Triggering requires only the ability to rename the watched file on a local or network-exported path; a remote NFS/SMB client can issue that rename without local shell access, CAP_AUDIT_CONTROL, or other elevated server-side Unix privileges beyond export write access.\nUI:N - No victim interaction is required; the attacker or any client performing the rename directly invokes the vulnerable fsnotify/audit path without needing another user to open files, click links, or mount filesystems.\nS:U - Impact is confined to the vulnerable kernel host where the rename is processed (task hang/deadlock during audit rule update); it does not cross VM, IOMMU, or sandbox security boundaries.\nC:N - This is a recursive mutex deadlock with no memory corruption, out-of-bounds access, or use-after-free; no attacker-controlled information disclosure occurs beyond optional lockdep diagnostics on debug kernels.\nI:N - The bug does not modify kernel or user data and provides no write primitive or code-execution path; it only deadlocks the calling context while holding VFS directory locks and audit_filter_mutex.\nA:H - The vulnerability causes a deterministic recursive locking deadlock that permanently hangs the rename task while holding directory inode locks and audit_filter_mutex, denying that operation and potentially blocking audit processing and directory operations system-wide."}]}],"affected":[{"product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["kernel/audit.h","kernel/audit_fsnotify.c","kernel/audit_watch.c","kernel/auditfilter.c"],"versions":[{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"6114c3f21eb2ae175401736da744b684705e7ed9","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"f6fda0ac6661c23b8356dfb1cc423960cc6f0593","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"3bbb4931f7cd84cecf29ec222c0732bf9ad4da9f","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"36eb77f14b4e6f2dc1008c1fabe31236397be27a","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"7d1f66c69898ffb1a718926c32a777ecc471caca","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"40879c39d6740f3dddfb52b5d6ba7fb8cceb84d8","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"3b601938314c24fcd1afb6659cad92fe96c9c2f8","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"34d99af52ad40bd498ba66970579a5bc1fb1a3bc","lessThan":"81905b5acbe77284734438df3fbec1158e6429a3","status":"affected","versionType":"git"}]},{"product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["kernel/audit.h","kernel/audit_fsnotify.c","kernel/audit_watch.c","kernel/auditfilter.c"],"versions":[{"version":"4.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","lessThan":"4.3","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.266","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.217","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.184","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.148","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.101","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.42","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.6","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.266"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.217"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.184"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.148"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.101"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.42"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"7.1.6"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.3","versionEndExcluding":"7.2"}]}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6114c3f21eb2ae175401736da744b684705e7ed9"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6fda0ac6661c23b8356dfb1cc423960cc6f0593"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bbb4931f7cd84cecf29ec222c0732bf9ad4da9f"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/36eb77f14b4e6f2dc1008c1fabe31236397be27a"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7d1f66c69898ffb1a718926c32a777ecc471caca"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/40879c39d6740f3dddfb52b5d6ba7fb8cceb84d8"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b601938314c24fcd1afb6659cad92fe96c9c2f8"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/81905b5acbe77284734438df3fbec1158e6429a3"}],"title":"audit: fix recursive locking deadlock in audit_dupe_exe()","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}