In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
aio: fix use-after-free due to missing POLLFREE handling
signalfd_poll() and binder_poll() are special in that they use a
waitqueue whose lifetime is the current task, rather than the struct
file as is normally the case. This is okay for blocking polls, since a
blocking poll occurs within one task; however, non-blocking polls
require another solution. This solution is for the queue to be cleared
before it is freed, by sending a POLLFREE notification to all waiters.
Unfortunately, only eventpoll handles POLLFREE. A second type of
non-blocking poll, aio poll, was added in kernel v4.18, and it doesn't
handle POLLFREE. This allows a use-after-free to occur if a signalfd or
binder fd is polled with aio poll, and the waitqueue gets freed.
Fix this by making aio poll handle POLLFREE.
A patch by Ramji Jiyani
(https://lore.kernel.org/r/20211027011834.2497484-1-ramjiyani@google.com)
tried to do this by making aio_poll_wake() always complete the request
inline if POLLFREE is seen. However, that solution had two bugs.
First, it introduced a deadlock, as it unconditionally locked the aio
context while holding the waitqueue lock, which inverts the normal
locking order. Second, it didn't consider that POLLFREE notifications
are missed while the request has been temporarily de-queued.
The second problem was solved by my previous patch. This patch then
properly fixes the use-after-free by handling POLLFREE in a
deadlock-free way. It does this by taking advantage of the fact that
freeing of the waitqueue is RCU-delayed, similar to what eventpoll does.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
- EG Likelihood
- 0.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-27). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it