CVE-2026-98941

HIGH CVSS 7.0 PoC Available
Published: 2026-10-23
Modified: 2026-10-24
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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-98941 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.0 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: don't enable large folios on encrypted inodes Commit 709f0f1f1bf5 ("ext4: add checks for large folio incompatibilities when BS > PS") disables large folios at mount time if the "encrypt" feature is set. However, enabling that feature on a mounted filesystem circumvents that check, and writing encrypted data results in a crash: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 Workqueue: ext4-rsv-conversion ext4_end_io_rsv_work RIP: 0010:ext4_finish_bio+0xf7/0x3e0 Call Trace: ext4_release_io_end+0x51/0x110 ext4_end_io_end+0x4c/0xe0 ext4_end_io_rsv_work+0xb3/0x100 Fix this by disabling large folios on encrypted inodes, as is already done for inodes that use data journaling. This affects all kernels between v6.19 and v7.2, but it is not needed in v7.3, where the code was significantly refactored.

Attack Chain
1
Reconnaissance

Attacker scans for vulnerable versions using version banners or PoC scanners

2
Initial Access

Attacker triggers CVE-2026-98941 vulnerability with a crafted request or payload

3
Execution

Vulnerability exploited to perform unauthorized actions on the target system

4
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-2026-98941
CVSS Score 7.0
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published 2026-10-23
Exploited No
CISA KEV No
PoC Available
References
External Resources
NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News