CVE-2026-68096: audit: fix recursive locking deadlock in audit_dupe_exe()
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
audit: fix recursive locking deadlock in audit_dupe_exe()
A deadlock occurs in the audit subsystem when duplicating
executable-related rules.
When a file is moved (e.g., via do_renameat2()), the VFS layer locks
the parent directory (I_MUTEX_PARENT), which synchronously triggers an
fsnotify_move event. If an existing executable audit rule matches the
file being moved, the audit subsystem catches this event and calls
audit_dupe_exe() to duplicate the watch and update the rule. Then,
audit_alloc_mark() would call kern_path_parent() to resolve the path,
leading to a blind attempt to acquire the exact same I_MUTEX_PARENT lock
already held by the task, resulting in the following recursive locking
deadlock:
============================================
WARNING: possible recursive locking detected
6.12.0-55.27.1.el10_0.x86_64+debug #1 Not tainted
--------------------------------------------
mv/5099 is trying to acquire lock:
ffff888132845358 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1){+.+.}-{3:3},
at: __kern_path_locked+0x10a/0x2f0
but task is already holding lock:
ffff888132846b58 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1){+.+.}-{3:3},
at: lock_two_directories+0x13f/0x2b0
other info that might help us debug this:
Possible unsafe locking scenario:
CPU0
----
lock(&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1);
lock(&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1);
*** DEADLOCK ***
May be due to missing lock nesting notation
6 locks held by mv/5099:
#0: ffff888112a9c440 (sb_writers#13)
at: do_renameat2+0x34c/0xbc0
#1: ffff888112a9c790 (&type->s_vfs_rename_key#3)
at: do_renameat2+0x415/0xbc0
#2: ffff888132846b58 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/1)
at: lock_two_directories+0x13f/0x2b0
#3: ffff888132845358 (&inode->i_sb->s_type->i_mutex_dir_key/5)
at: lock_two_directories+0x175/0x2b0
#4: ffffffffb3a1fb10 (&fsnotify_mark_srcu)
at: fsnotify+0x454/0x28a0
#5: ffffffffaf886230 (audit_filter_mutex)
at: audit_update_watch+0x36/0x11e0
stack backtrace:
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x6f/0xb0
print_deadlock_bug.cold+0xbd/0xca
validate_chain+0x83a/0xf00
__lock_acquire+0xcac/0x1d20
lock_acquire.part.0+0x11b/0x360
down_write_nested+0x9f/0x230
__kern_path_locked+0x10a/0x2f0
kern_path_locked+0x26/0x40
audit_alloc_mark+0xfb/0x4f0
audit_dupe_exe+0x6c/0xe0
audit_dupe_rule+0x6c2/0xc00
audit_update_watch+0x4cc/0x11e0
audit_watch_handle_event+0x12c/0x1b0
send_to_group+0x5d0/0x8b0
fsnotify+0x615/0x28a0
fsnotify_move+0x1d8/0x630
vfs_rename+0xdcd/0x1df0
do_renameat2+0x9d4/0xbc0
__x64_sys_renameat+0x192/0x260
do_syscall_64+0x92/0x180
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
RIP: 0033:0x7f0491fe8c4e
Code: 0f 1f 40 00 48 8b 15 c1 e1 16 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff
c3 66 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 49 89 ca b8 08 01 00 00 0f 05 <48>
3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 0a c3 66 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 48 8b 15 89
RSP: 002b:00007ffc7210bf38 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000108
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f0491fe8c4e
RDX: 0000000000000003 RSI: 00007ffc7210e6c8 RDI: 00000000ffffff9c
RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001
R10: 00005575eb2dae2a R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00005575eb2dae2a
R13: 00007ffc7210e6c8 R14: 0000000000000003 R15: 00000000ffffff9c
</TASK>
The aforementioned deadlock can be consistently reproduced by running
the script below:
audit-dupe-exe-deadlock.sh
--------------------------
#!/bin/bash
auditctl -D
mkdir -p /tmp/foo
touch /tmp/file
auditctl -a always,exit -F exe=/tmp/file -F path=/tmp/file -S all -k dr
mv /tmp/file /tmp/foo/file
rm -Rf /tmp/foo
This patch fixes the issue by introducing struct audit_watch_ctx to pass
the fsnotify event context down to audit_alloc_mark(). By utilizing the
already-resolved directory inode provided by the event, we bypass the
kern_path_parent() path resol
---truncated---
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
cwe · low confidence lookup
CWE-835: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
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.
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.
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
CWE-835 · source CWE mapping
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.