Bug 2517041 (CVE-2026-74486) - CVE-2026-74486 kernel: binfmt_misc: use exe_file_deny_write_access() for the interpreter clone
Summary: CVE-2026-74486 kernel: binfmt_misc: use exe_file_deny_write_access() for the ...
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-74486
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
low
low
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Product Security
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-08-15 12:46 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-08-19 18:38 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 12:46:16 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

binfmt_misc: use exe_file_deny_write_access() for the interpreter clone

For MISC_FMT_OPEN_FILE entries load_misc_binary() clones the
registered interpreter file and denies write access to the clone via
plain deny_write_access(). The clone is installed as
bprm->interpreter and later released by the exec machinery through
exe_file_allow_write_access() which skips the i_writecount increment
for files with FMODE_FSNOTIFY_HSM set.

The deny and allow side can therefore come to different conclusions
when pre-content watches are in play: if a pre-content watch is added
to the interpreter after registration every subsequent exec through
that entry takes a write denial on the clone that is never paired
with a write allowance, driving the interpreter inode's i_writecount
further down with each exec and leaving the interpreter unwritable
even after the entry and all its users are gone.

Take the write denial via exe_file_deny_write_access() so both sides
of the pairing base their decision on the same file mode, and
propagate failure instead of silently ignoring it: an interpreter
that is concurrently open for writing now fails the exec with
ETXTBSY, exactly like an interpreter freshly opened via open_exec()
would.

Comment 1 Mauro Matteo Cascella 2026-08-19 18:25:20 UTC
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081537-CVE-2026-74486-cbfc@gregkh/T


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