CVE-2026-99179

NONE

Published: 2026-10-28

Modified: 2026-10-28

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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-99179 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: watch_queue: Fix note pool publication race in watch_queue_set_size() There is a race between watch_queue_set_size() and post_one_notification(). watch_queue_set_size() publishes wqueue->notes, notes_bitmap, nr_pages and nr_notes with plain stores, and post_one_notification() reads them with plain loads under a different lock, so nothing orders the four stores against the poster's loads: depending on the build, notes can be stored last (gcc 14 on x86-64 does this). Since keyctl_watch_key() lets a watch attach to a queue before it is sized, post_one_notification() can already be running on another CPU at that moment: it reads nr_notes > 0, passes its bounds check, and then reads notes while it is still NULL, dereferencing notes[0]. An unprivileged user triggers this reliably by watching one of its own keys through a notification pipe and racing ioctl(IOC_WATCH_QUEUE_SET_SIZE) on that pipe against keyctl(KEYCTL_SETPERM) on the key from another CPU, triggering: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 RIP: 0010:post_one_notification.isra.0+0xa2/0x1e0 Call Trace: __post_watch_notification+0x148/0x180 keyctl_setperm_key+0x119/0x130 do_syscall_64+0x108/0x4c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt Fix this by publishing nr_notes last with smp_store_release(), and by reading it once with smp_load_acquire() in post_one_notification() before the bitmap and the page array are touched. A poster that observes a non-zero nr_notes then also observes the pool behind it; one that observes zero drops the notification as before.

Attack Chain

Reconnaissance

Attacker scans for vulnerable versions using version banners or PoC scanners

Initial Access

Attacker triggers CVE-2026-99179 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-2026-99179
CVSS Score	N/A
Published	2026-10-28
Exploited	No
CISA KEV	No
PoC	Not public

References

External Resources

NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News