CVE Intelligence
High

CVE-2026-46299 — hfsplus: fix held lock freed on hfsplus_fill_super()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: fix held lock freed on hfsplus_fill_super() hfsplus_fill_super() calls hfs_find_init() to initialize a search structure, which acquires tree->tree_lock. If the subsequent call to hfsplus_cat_build_key() fails, the function jumps to the out_put_root error label without releasing the lock. The later cleanup path then frees the tree data structure with the lock still held, triggering a held lock freed warning. Fix this by adding the missing hfs_find_exit(&fd) call before jumping to the out_put_root error label. This ensures that tree->tree_lock is properly released on the error path. The bug was originally detected on v6.13-rc1 using an experimental static analysis tool we are developing, and we have verified that the issue persists in the latest mainline kernel. The tool is specifically designed to detect memory management issues. It is currently under active development and not yet publicly available. We confirmed the bug by runtime testing under QEMU with x86_64 defconfig, lockdep enabled, and CONFIG_HFSPLUS_FS=y. To trigger the error path, we used GDB to dynamically shrink the max_unistr_len parameter to 1 before hfsplus_asc2uni() is called. This forces hfsplus_asc2uni() to naturally return -ENAMETOOLONG, which propagates to hfsplus_cat_build_key() and exercises the faulty error path. The following warning was observed during mount: ========================= WARNING: held lock freed! 7.0.0-rc3-00016-gb4f0dd314b39 #4 Not tainted ------------------------- mount/174 is freeing memory ffff888103f92000-ffff888103f92fff, with a lock still held there! ffff888103f920b0 (&tree->tree_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: hfsplus_find_init+0x154/0x1e0 2 locks held by mount/174: #0: ffff888103f960e0 (&type->s_umount_key#42/1){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: alloc_super.constprop.0+0x167/0xa40 #1: ffff888103f920b0 (&tree->tree_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: hfsplus_find_init+0x154/0x1e0 stack backtrace: CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 174 Comm: mount Not tainted 7.0.0-rc3-00016-gb4f0dd314b39 #4 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x82/0xd0 debug_check_no_locks_freed+0x13a/0x180 kfree+0x16b/0x510 ? hfsplus_fill_super+0xcb4/0x18a0 hfsplus_fill_super+0xcb4/0x18a0 ? __pfx_hfsplus_fill_super+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? bdev_open+0x65f/0xc30 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? pointer+0x4ce/0xbf0 ? trace_contention_end+0x11c/0x150 ? __pfx_pointer+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? bdev_open+0x79b/0xc30 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? vsnprintf+0x6da/0x1270 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0x157/0x740 ? __pfx_vsnprintf+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? mark_held_locks+0x49/0x80 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? irqentry_exit+0x17b/0x5e0 ? trace_irq_disable.constprop.0+0x116/0x150 ? __pfx_hfsplus_fill_super+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_hfsplus_fill_super+0x10/0x10 get_tree_bdev_flags+0x302/0x580 ? __pfx_get_tree_bdev_flags+0x10/0x10 ? vfs_parse_fs_qstr+0x129/0x1a0 ? __pfx_vfs_parse_fs_qstr+0x3/0x10 vfs_get_tree+0x89/0x320 fc_mount+0x10/0x1d0 path_mount+0x5c5/0x21c0 ? __pfx_path_mount+0x10/0x10 ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0x116/0x150 ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0x116/0x150 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? kmem_cache_free+0x307/0x540 ? user_path_at+0x51/0x60 ? __x64_sys_mount+0x212/0x280 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f __x64_sys_mount+0x212/0x280 ? __pfx___x64_sys_mount+0x10/0x10 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0x116/0x150 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f do_syscall_64+0x111/0x680 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7ffacad55eae Code: 48 8b 0d 85 1f 0f 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 90 f3 0f 1e fa 49 89 ca b8 a5 00 00 8 RSP: 002b ---truncated---

Published Jun 8, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.1% (30-day exploitation probability)+0
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.09%
ahead of 0% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
7.0
High · 2 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < e890656accee4c26d932ea388eb8936a6e22184d≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < 6499c9c8ec437a369e7e221dad91f6122b50759d≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < c554ddc87af4d4e4be42f8aed1baec9e1c7588e0≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < 3ca80e3012c8be85b4f8d0d20eac8d3b17ff257e≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < 041acda6d9f96006703466449c10c9a69590c8b9≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < d309d3308de658d87c42d97e044c89a226327526≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < bfbcce6a7b0552a390620d9b2c4d2bcb1825cbdc≥ 89ac9b4d3d1a049ae1054f99b1aed81092cd0a82 and < 90c500e4fd83fa33c09bc7ee23b6d9cc487ac733
and 1 more version 3.19
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 3.19 and < 5.10.259≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.210≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.176≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.140≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.88≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.30≥ 6.19 and < 7.0.7 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High 1.0 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.0 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-667

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.12%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.0
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jun 8, 2026 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
CWE-667
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 22h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 22h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-46299 is "hfsplus: fix held lock freed on hfsplus_fill_super()", rated High. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.09% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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