MEDIUM CVSS 5.5
Published: 2026-06-24

CVE-2026-52961

linux linux_kernel Security Advisory (CVE-2026-52961)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2026-52961 impacting linux linux_kernel. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ceph: fix BUG_ON in __ceph_build_xattrs_blob() due to stale blob size The generic/642 test-case can reproduce the kernel crash: [40243.605254] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [40243.605956] kernel BUG at fs/ceph/xattr.c:918! [40243.607142] Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI [40243.608067] CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 498762 Comm: kworker/7:1 Not tainted 7.0.0-rc7+ #3 PREEMPT(full) [40243.609700] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 25.10 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, + 10.1 machine, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [40243.611820] Workqueue: ceph-msgr ceph_con_workfn [40243.612715] RIP: 0010:__ceph_build_xattrs_blob+0x1b8/0x1e0 [40243.613731] Code: 0f 84 82 fe ff ff e9 cf 8e 56 ff 48 8d 65 e8 31 c0 5b 41 5c 41 5d 5d 31 d2 31 c9 31 f6 31 ff 45 31 c0 45 31 c9 c3 cc cc cc cc <0f> 0b 4c 8b 62 08 41 8b 85 24 07 00 00 49 83 c4 04 41 89 44 24 fc [40243.616888] RSP: 0018:ffffcc80c4d4b688 EFLAGS: 00010287 [40243.617773] RAX: 0000000000010026 RBX: 0000000000000001 RCX: 0000000000000000 [40243.618928] RDX: ffff8a773798dee0 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000000 [40243.620158] RBP: ffffcc80c4d4b6a0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 [40243.621573] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8a75f3b58000 [40243.622907] R13: ffff8a75f3b58000 R14: 0000000000000080 R15: 000000000000bffd [40243.624054] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8a787d1b4000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [40243.625331] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [40243.626269] CR2: 000072f390b623c0 CR3: 000000011c02a003 CR4: 0000000000372ef0 [40243.627408] Call Trace: [40243.627839] <TASK> [40243.628188] __prep_cap+0x3fd/0x4a0 [40243.628789] ? do_raw_spin_unlock+0x4e/0xe0 [40243.629474] ceph_check_caps+0x46a/0xc80 [40243.630094] ? __lock_acquire+0x4a2/0x2650 [40243.630773] ? find_held_lock+0x31/0x90 [40243.631347] ? handle_cap_grant+0x79f/0x1060 [40243.632068] ? lock_release+0xd9/0x300 [40243.632696] ? __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0x3e/0x340 [40243.633429] ? lock_release+0xd9/0x300 [40243.634052] handle_cap_grant+0xcf6/0x1060 [40243.634745] ceph_handle_caps+0x122b/0x2110 [40243.635415] mds_dispatch+0x5bd/0x2160 [40243.636034] ? ceph_con_process_message+0x65/0x190 [40243.636828] ? lock_release+0xd9/0x300 [40243.637431] ceph_con_process_message+0x7a/0x190 [40243.638184] ? kfree+0x311/0x4f0 [40243.638749] ? kfree+0x311/0x4f0 [40243.639268] process_message+0x16/0x1a0 [40243.639915] ? sg_free_table+0x39/0x90 [40243.640572] ceph_con_v2_try_read+0xf58/0x2120 [40243.641255] ? lock_acquire+0xc8/0x300 [40243.641863] ceph_con_workfn+0x151/0x820 [40243.642493] process_one_work+0x22f/0x630 [40243.643093] ? process_one_work+0x254/0x630 [40243.643770] worker_thread+0x1e2/0x400 [40243.644332] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 [40243.645020] kthread+0x109/0x140 [40243.645560] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [40243.646125] ret_from_fork+0x3f8/0x480 [40243.646752] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [40243.647316] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [40243.647919] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [40243.648556] </TASK> [40243.648902] Modules linked in: overlay hctr2 libpolyval chacha libchacha adiantum libnh libpoly1305 essiv intel_rapl_msr intel_rapl_common intel_uncore_frequency_common skx_edac_common nfit kvm_intel kvm irqbypass joydev ghash_clmulni_intel aesni_intel rapl input_leds mac_hid psmouse vga16fb serio_raw vgastate floppy i2c_piix4 pata_acpi bochs qemu_fw_cfg i2c_smbus sch_fq_codel rbd dm_crypt msr parport_pc ppdev lp parport efi_pstore [40243.654766] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Commit d93231a6bc8a ("ceph: prevent a client from exceeding the MDS maximum xattr size") moved the required_blob_size computation to before the __build_xattrs() call, introducing a race. __build_xattrs() releases and reacquires i_ceph_lock during execution. In that window, handle_cap_grant() may update i_xattrs.blob with a newer MDS-provided blob and bump i_xattrs.version. When __bui ---truncated---

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
Low (PR:L)
Standard user access required
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
None (C:N)
No data confidentiality impact
Integrity
None (I:N)
No system modification impact
Availability
High (A:H)
Total denial of service or shutdown

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product linux / linux_kernel
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-617

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2026-52961 impacting linux linux_kernel.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2026-52961.yaml 
id: cve-2026-52961

info:
  name: linux linux_kernel - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2026-52961 affecting linux linux_kernel.
    Evaluation: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ceph: fix BUG_ON in __ceph_build_xattrs_blob() due to stale blob size

The generi...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2026-52961
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    cvss-score: 5.5
    cve-id: CVE-2026-52961
    cwe-id: CWE-617
  tags: cve,cve-2026-52961,linux,linux_kernel,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "linux_kernel"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2026-52961.py 
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2026-52961
# Target: linux linux_kernel | CVSS: 5.5 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2026-52961 (linux linux_kernel)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against linux linux_kernel scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2026-52961.sh 
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2026-52961
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update linux_kernel

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i linux_kernel

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

🔗 Verified Technical References

Authorities
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Distributions
  • No records filed in this category.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2026-52961 in linux linux_kernel?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update linux linux_kernel packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2026-52961?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2026-52961?

CVE-2026-52961 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

🕸️ Spider Mesh Intelligence Graph (Connected Advisories)

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Risk Snapshot
5.5
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2026-52961
Weakness CWE-617
Vendor linux
Product linux_kernel
Published 2026-06-24
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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