CVE-2025-68736: landlock: Fix handling of disconnected directories
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
landlock: Fix handling of disconnected directories
Disconnected files or directories can appear when they are visible and
opened from a bind mount, but have been renamed or moved from the source
of the bind mount in a way that makes them inaccessible from the mount
point (i.e. out of scope).
Previously, access rights tied to files or directories opened through a
disconnected directory were collected by walking the related hierarchy
down to the root of the filesystem, without taking into account the
mount point because it couldn't be found. This could lead to
inconsistent access results, potential access right widening, and
hard-to-debug renames, especially since such paths cannot be printed.
For a sandboxed task to create a disconnected directory, it needs to
have write access (i.e. FS_MAKE_REG, FS_REMOVE_FILE, and FS_REFER) to
the underlying source of the bind mount, and read access to the related
mount point. Because a sandboxed task cannot acquire more access
rights than those defined by its Landlock domain, this could lead to
inconsistent access rights due to missing permissions that should be
inherited from the mount point hierarchy, while inheriting permissions
from the filesystem hierarchy hidden by this mount point instead.
Landlock now handles files and directories opened from disconnected
directories by taking into account the filesystem hierarchy when the
mount point is not found in the hierarchy walk, and also always taking
into account the mount point from which these disconnected directories
were opened. This ensures that a rename is not allowed if it would
widen access rights [1].
The rationale is that, even if disconnected hierarchies might not be
visible or accessible to a sandboxed task, relying on the collected
access rights from them improves the guarantee that access rights will
not be widened during a rename because of the access right comparison
between the source and the destination (see LANDLOCK_ACCESS_FS_REFER).
It may look like this would grant more access on disconnected files and
directories, but the security policies are always enforced for all the
evaluated hierarchies. This new behavior should be less surprising to
users and safer from an access control perspective.
Remove a wrong WARN_ON_ONCE() canary in collect_domain_accesses() and
fix the related comment.
Because opened files have their access rights stored in the related file
security properties, there is no impact for disconnected or unlinked
files.
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A Linux Landlock sandbox flaw can produce inconsistent file-access decisions when bind-mounted directories become disconnected after renames or moves. Under specific local conditions, permissions may be evaluated against the wrong directory hierarchy, potentially widening access beyond the sandbox policy. The issue matters most where Landlock is relied upon as a security boundary.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority targeted update for workloads relying on Landlock isolation, especially multi-tenant or untrusted-code environments. Broad emergency action is not supported by the supplied evidence because exploitation requires local access and specialized conditions, with no reported active exploitation. Confirm exposure quickly, then patch affected systems through normal vendor-supported kernel channels.
Technical view
Landlock previously walked a disconnected object's filesystem hierarchy without reliably incorporating its bind-mount point. This could omit restrictions inherited from the mount hierarchy and instead consider hidden filesystem permissions, affecting rename authorization and potentially widening rights. The correction evaluates both the filesystem hierarchy and originating mount point. The source states that disconnected or unlinked opened files are unaffected because their rights are stored in file security properties.
Likely exposure
Exposure requires Linux systems using Landlock with bind mounts and workflows capable of creating disconnected directories. The sandboxed task needs specified write rights to the bind-mount source and read access to the mount point. Systems not using Landlock as a sandbox control are unlikely to be directly exposed. The bundle's version data is ambiguous, so confirm status with the kernel or distribution vendor.
Exploitation context
The supplied CVSS score is 8.8, but exploitation is local and requires low privileges plus a specific Landlock, bind-mount, access-right, and rename configuration. The bundle reports no CISA KEV listing and provides no evidence of active exploitation or public weaponization. Practical risk therefore depends heavily on whether affected Landlock policies and mount patterns exist.
Researcher notes
The security consequence is policy inconsistency and possible access-right widening during rename comparisons involving disconnected bind-mounted paths. Exact affected-version boundaries cannot be reliably reconstructed from the supplied version array; several values appear range-like without operators. Researchers should map the cited stable commits to distribution kernels and validate policy behavior without assuming every listed kernel is uniformly vulnerable.
Mitigation direction
Update to a vendor-supported kernel containing the applicable upstream stable fix.
Confirm the corrected package version with your Linux distribution or kernel vendor.
Prioritize systems that use Landlock with writable bind-mount sources.
Restrict unnecessary write and refer rights within Landlock domains until updated.
Validation and detection
Inventory kernel versions and identify systems actively enforcing Landlock policies.
Review applications using Landlock, bind mounts, and rename operations across mount boundaries.
Compare installed kernels with vendor advisories and the cited stable fixes.
Regression-test sandbox access decisions involving moved or renamed bind-mounted directories.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Potential ATT&CK relevance
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CVSS vector scores
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