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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-81754

| CVE-2026-90161 HIGH
2026-09-17 Linux GHSA-75m6-v57w-mhq4
7.1
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Craft malicious EROFS image with invalid interlaced ztailpacking pcluster
  2. Delivery
    Deliver image to victim (USB/download/container layer)
  3. Exploit
    Victim mounts and reads crafted file
  4. Execution
    OOB read from kmap'd page during decompression
  5. Persist
    Kernel memory copied into page cache
  6. Impact
    Attacker reads leaked kernel data from userspace

Vulnerability Assessment

Exploitation Conditions

Requires the EROFS (Enhanced Read-Only File System) driver to be built/loaded, and the attacker must supply a hand-crafted EROFS image containing an invalid interlaced ztailpacking pcluster whose on-disk size is not block-aligned - a combination mkfs.erofs never produces, so only deliberately malicious images trigger it. Exploitation further requires the victim to mount that image and read the crafted file (UI:R); mounting an untrusted filesystem image typically needs CAP_SYS_ADMIN or an automount/removable-media pathway. It is local only (AV:L) - no remote or network trigger - which substantially limits real-world reach despite the memory-disclosure impact.

Impact

The vendor CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H, base 7.1) frames this as a local, low-complexity flaw requiring user interaction. The interaction is the decisive limiter: an attacker cannot trigger the out-of-bounds read remotely - a victim must mount (or otherwise process) a maliciously crafted EROFS image. There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code in the provided intelligence, so all real-risk signals are 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' The description itself notes that mkfs.erofs never generates the offending interlaced ztailpacking pcluster, so no legitimate filesystem is affected - exploitation is entirely dependent on an attacker delivering a hand-crafted image. The primary impact is confidentiality (C:H: kernel memory copied into userspace-visible page cache); the vendor's A:H (crash/DoS) is plausible but optimistic since an OOB read does not always fault. This is a real but low-priority patch: genuine memory-disclosure primitive, but gated behind crafted-image delivery and a mount action, and not under active exploitation. The 'Buffer Overflow' tag is imprecise - this is an out-of-bounds READ (CWE-125), not a write overflow; the CWE field is N/A in the input and should be treated as unconfirmed.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts an EROFS filesystem image containing an invalid interlaced ztailpacking pcluster with a non-block-aligned on-disk size, then delivers it to a victim (e.g., a USB stick, downloaded container/system image, or automount-triggered media). When the victim mounts the image and reads the malicious file, the decompressor performs an out-of-bounds read from a kmap'd page, copying unrelated kernel memory into the userspace-visible page cache where the attacker's process can read it. No public proof-of-concept is identified in the available intelligence.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 18, 2026

An out-of-bounds read in the Linux kernel EROFS file-system driver lets a local attacker who can supply a crafted EROFS image cause unrelated kernel memory to be copied into a user-visible page cache when a victim mounts the image and reads the crafted file. The flaw requires user interaction (UI:R) and is local only (AV:L); the vendor CVSS 3.1 base is 7.1 with Confidentiality and Availability High, while independent assessment rates availability impact Low. No public exploit code was identified at time of analysis, and fixes are available in stable kernels 6.18.52, 7.2.6, and 7.3-rc1.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Linux 6.18.52, 7.2.6, or 7.3-rc1 (or later in the corresponding stable branches), which contain the fix; the specific stable commits are ddb7ea4fd99bf6c4314d1dfca18aec6945ce8054, 862427ebb81d1f6abbf74d799790e1694b37b187, and 451027c642e752420e1a04237db9ce7b35cee595. If immediate patching is not possible, avoid mounting untrusted or attacker-supplied EROFS images, particularly through automount or removable-media pathways; this limits exposure but is not suitable where arbitrary image mounting is a required workflow. As a compensating control, restrict CAP_SYS_ADMIN and blacklist or do not load the erofs module on systems that do not need EROFS, for example via modprobe.d blacklist or kernel configuration, with the trade-off that legitimate EROFS filesystems will be unavailable. Monitor vendor advisory https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90161 for updated guidance; no public exploit code was identified at time of analysis.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux patch: 0
Linux patch: 6.18.52
Linux 6.1
Linux 6.0.16 <6.1
Linux 7d6ef8277e44c22f894d54d26ddb36c22d60712d
Linux fdffc091e6f94602558bba712b51bc16f79fd6d5 <ddb7ea4fd99bf6c4314d1dfca18aec6945ce8054
Linux fdffc091e6f94602558bba712b51bc16f79fd6d5 <862427ebb81d1f6abbf74d799790e1694b37b187
Linux patch: 7.2.6
Linux fdffc091e6f94602558bba712b51bc16f79fd6d5 <451027c642e752420e1a04237db9ce7b35cee595
Linux patch: 7.3-rc1

Affected Packages

euvd linux fix: 6.1

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability is in the Linux kernel's Enhanced Read-Only File System (EROFS) implementation, specifically the handling of interlaced physical clusters (pclusters) in combination with ztailpacking. On-disk sizes for interlaced pclusters are expected to be block-aligned, and interlaced pclusters combined with ztailpacking are supposed to be invalid entirely; mkfs.erofs never emits such metadata, so valid filesystems are not affected. Crafted images that violate this invariant are not rejected, leading to a size or mapping error and an out-of-bounds read from a kmap'd page; the read contents are then copied into the page cache, exposing irrelevant kernel memory to userspace. The provided CPE strings identify the generic linux:linux product, and the relevant code paths are those added for EROFS ztailpacking and interlaced pcluster support. The root cause is improper validation of on-disk metadata leading to an out-of-bounds read; no CWE was supplied in the input.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY 7.1 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 6.1 MEDIUM

Local crafted-image mount+read (AV:L, UI:R, PR:N via automount/USB); C:H for kernel-memory disclosure into page cache; A lowered to L since an OOB read does not reliably crash.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:L
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 3.3 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Red Hat 7.0 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Sep 18, 2026 - 18:22 NVD
7.1 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 17, 2026 - 17:19 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 16:06 cve.org
HIGH 7.1
CVE Published
Sep 17, 2026 - 16:06 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

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

erofs: fix interlaced ztailpacking pclusters

On-disk sizes of interlaced pclusters should be block-aligned, and ztailpacking interlaced pclusters should be invalid at all.

Currently, mkfs.erofs won't generate any interlaced pcluster with ztailpacking enabled, so this doesn't affect any existing valid filesystems.

However, crafted images can contain invalid interlaced ztailpacking pclusters, resulting in an out-of-bounds read from a kmap'd page and copying irrelevant kernel memory into userspace-visible page cache.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A high-severity flaw in the Linux kernel's EROFS read-only file-system driver affects any organization running unpatched Linux kernels, allowing a local user who can supply a crafted image to cause kernel memory to be exposed through a file the victim reads. The most exposed environments are container hosts, Android and embedded platforms, and any system where less-trusted users or workloads can mount EROFS images, making this a plausible container-escape or cross-tenant confidentiality concern. No public exploit code exists at time of analysis and the vendor has released fixed kernels, so leadership should prioritize a coordinated kernel update rather than emergency containment.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.2%
Top 90% exploitable
Prevalence
High
EROFS ships in mainline Linux, widely used in Android system images and containers
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.2%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Medium

Priority Score

36
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +36
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Affected

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