keys: Check the authorization payload in process keyring searches
Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
- Fix
- No fix listed
- Who is exposed
- Not reported
Do first: Workaround: The checked facts give no workaround or mitigation. Consult the kernel vendor's advisory for guidance while a fix is pending.
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- Published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 25/100 · provisional
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Unclear
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
The Linux kernel's key management subsystem (keyrings used for request-key and authorization keys) is affected. A local user who can trigger a race between a request-key helper process and the requester can cause a NULL pointer dereference, which can crash the kernel.
Read the original description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Check the authorization payload in process keyring searches An authorization payload and its saved credentials must remain valid while search_process_keyrings_rcu() searches the requestor's keyrings. The function validates the authorization key, then separately loads payload.data[0] and unconditionally reads rka->cred. Validation does not prevent request_key_auth_revoke() from clearing the payload. A request-key helper can assume authority and fork a descendant that inherits the authorization key. If the descendant misses in its own keyrings, it falls back to the saved requestor credentials. Successful target instantiation invalidates the authorization key without clearing the payload. After the helper exits, UMH_WAIT_PROC returns to the requester, which calls complete_request_key() and revokes that key. With the descendant paused after validation, the paths can interleave as follows: 1. The descendant enters search_process_keyrings_rcu() under RCU and key_validate() succeeds. 2. The helper instantiates the target, invalidates the authorization key, and exits. 3. The requester resumes from UMH_WAIT_PROC, calls complete_request_key(), and revokes the authorization key. request_key_auth_revoke() sets its payload pointer to NULL. 4. The descendant loads NULL and dereferences rka->cred. This NULL dereference can oops the kernel. RCU delays payload disposal but does not prevent the pointer from being cleared. Load the payload with dereference_key_rcu() and require a non-NULL result before validating the authorization key and searching its saved credentials. A non-NULL payload and its credentials remain alive for the caller's RCU read-side section; a cleared payload skips the fallback search and follows the existing error selection. KASAN report as below: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000005: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000028-0x000000000000002f] RIP: 0010:search_process_keyrings_rcu+0x32b/0x790
What to do
Workaround: The checked facts give no workaround or mitigation. Consult the kernel vendor's advisory for guidance while a fix is pending.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
Affected versions
- Linux Linux
Version range not reported
- Linux Linux
5.3
Evidence 8
- Link
- Link
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Corrections
None so far.
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Questions about CVE-2026-99225
What does this mean?
A request-key helper can assume authority and fork a child process that inherits the authorization key. If the child misses in its own keyrings, it falls back to the saved requestor credentials, and a NULL pointer dereference can oops (crash) the kernel.Source: git.kernel.org
Am I affected, and how do I check?
The checked facts list only the Linux kernel and give no version ranges. The setup involves request-key helpers that fork descendants inheriting the authorization key, so check the kernel version with uname -r and compare it against the kernel vendor's advisory.Source: git.kernel.org
What should I do about it?
The checked facts name no fixed version or patch, so the upgrade target cannot be stated from these facts. Check the kernel vendor's advisory or your distribution's security notices for a fixed kernel.Source: git.kernel.org
Is it being exploited?
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data
What if there's no patch?
The checked facts give no workaround or mitigation. Consult the kernel vendor's advisory for guidance while a fix is pending.Source: git.kernel.org