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CVE Record

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.

HighCVSS 8.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

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.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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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CVE-2025-68736 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
8.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H26Linux

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

8.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-68736Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxcb2c7d1a1776057c9a1f48ed1250d85e94d4850d, cb2c7d1a1776057c9a1f48ed1250d85e94d4850d, cb2c7d1a1776057c9a1f48ed1250d85e94d4850d, cb2c7d1a1776057c9a1f48ed1250d85e94d4850dunaffected
LinuxLinux5.13, 0, 6.6.143, 6.12.80, 6.18.2, 6.19affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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