CVE-2026-89786

CRITICAL CVSS 9.1

Published: 2026-09-16

Modified: 2026-09-16

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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-89786 is a moderate vulnerability affecting the target software. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix out-of-bounds read in ext4_read_inline_dir() ext4_read_inline_dir() can read a dirent header past the end of its inline buffer, triggering a slab-out-of-bounds read during getdents64(): BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in __ext4_check_dir_entry Read of size 2 at addr ffff88800f3dd23c by task exploit/148 ... __ext4_check_dir_entry ext4_read_inline_dir iterate_dir The dirent payload lives in a buffer of exactly inline_size bytes: dir_buf = kmalloc(inline_size, GFP_NOFS); but iteration runs in a position space extra_offset bytes larger (extra_size = extra_offset + inline_size) so the synthetic "." and ".." land at their block-dir offsets. A dirent is formed at "dir_buf + pos - extra_offset", yet the ext4_check_dir_entry() length argument uses the larger extra_size. A position whose dirent header would extend past extra_size is therefore accepted, and the rescan loop's rec_len probe and ext4_check_dir_entry() dereference de->rec_len before the entry is rejected. Reject a position whose minimum-size dirent header would not fit within extra_size before forming de, in both the rescan and main loops, and pass inline_size rather than extra_size to ext4_check_dir_entry() so the length check matches the physical buffer.

Attack Chain

Reconnaissance

Attacker scans for vulnerable versions using version banners or PoC scanners

Initial Access

Attacker triggers CVE-2026-89786 vulnerability with a crafted request or payload

Execution

Vulnerability exploited to perform unauthorized actions on the target system

Impact

Depending on vulnerability type, attacker achieves data access, service disruption, or code execution

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application

Initial Access

Public-facing application vulnerability exploited for initial access

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution

Execution

Vulnerability exploited to execute attacker-controlled code

Indicators of Compromise

Type	Value	Description
user_agent	`Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0)`	Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url	`/api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious>`	Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params

Remediation

1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.

Quick Facts

CVE ID	CVE-2026-89786
CVSS Score	9.1
Vector	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`
Published	2026-09-16
Exploited	No
CISA KEV	No
PoC	Not public

References

External Resources

NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News