Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-63796

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Developing Published 2026-07-19

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.260 / 5.15.211 or later.

See remediation →

94/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable Zero-click 4 weeks old

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ocfs2: reject oversized group bitmap descriptors ocfs2_validate_gd_parent() only bounds bg_bits against the parent allocator's chain geometry. A malicious descriptor can still claim a bg_size/bg_bits pair that exceeds the bitmap bytes that physically fit in the group descriptor block, so later bitmap scans and bit updates can run past bg_bitmap. Add a physical-cap check based on ocfs2_group_bitmap_size() for the parent allocator type and reject descriptors whose bg_size or bg_bits exceed that capacity. Keep the existing chain geometry check so both the on-disk bitmap layout and the allocator metadata must agree before the descriptor is used. Validation reproduced this kernel report: KASAN use-after-free in _find_next_bit+0x7f/0xc0 Read of size 8 Call trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x66/0xa0 (?:?) print_report+0xd0/0x630 (?:?) _find_next_bit+0x7f/0xc0 (?:?) srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 (?:?) __virt_addr_valid+0x188/0x2f0 (?:?) kasan_report+0xe4/0x120 (?:?) ocfs2_find_max_contig_free_bits+0x35/0x70 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:1375) ocfs2_block_group_set_bits+0x472/0x4b0 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:1457) ocfs2_cluster_group_search+0x16b/0x440 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:86) ocfs2_bg_discontig_fix_result+0x1ef/0x230 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:1786) ocfs2_search_chain+0x8f8/0x10a0 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:1886) get_page_from_freelist+0x70e/0x2370 (?:?) lock_release+0xc6/0x290 (?:?) do_raw_spin_unlock+0x9a/0x100 (?:?) kasan_unpoison+0x27/0x60 (?:?) __bfs+0x147/0x240 (?:?) get_page_from_freelist+0x83d/0x2370 (?:?) ocfs2_claim_suballoc_bits+0x38c/0xe70 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:96) sched_domains_numa_masks_clear+0x70/0xd0 (?:?) check_irq_usage+0xe8/0xb70 (?:?) __ocfs2_claim_clusters+0x18d/0x4c0 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:2497) check_path+0x24/0x50 (?:?) rcu_is_watching+0x20/0x50 (?:?) check_prev_add+0xfd/0xd00 (?:?) ocfs2_add_clusters_in_btree+0x17d/0x810 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:?) __folio_batch_add_and_move+0x1f5/0x3d0 (?:?) ocfs2_add_inode_data+0xd9/0x120 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:?) filemap_add_folio+0x105/0x1f0 (?:?) ocfs2_write_begin_nolock+0x29f7/0x2f80 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:3043) ocfs2_read_inode_block+0xb5/0x110 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:?) down_write+0xf5/0x180 (?:?) ocfs2_write_begin+0x180/0x240 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:?) __mark_inode_dirty+0x758/0x9a0 (?:?) inode_to_bdi+0x41/0x90 (?:?) balance_dirty_pages_ratelimited_flags+0xf8/0x1d0 (?:?) generic_perform_write+0x252/0x440 (?:?) mnt_put_write_access_file+0x16/0x70 (?:?) file_update_time_flags+0xe4/0x200 (?:?) ocfs2_file_write_iter+0x80a/0x1320 (fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:?) lock_acquire+0x184/0x2f0 (?:?) ksys_write+0xd2/0x170 (?:?) apparmor_file_permission+0xf5/0x310 (?:?) read_zero+0x8d/0x140 (?:?) lock_is_held_type+0x8f/0x100 (?:?)

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · low confidence

Developing — this CVE was published recently and its authoritative NVD entry is still being established, so we're holding a technical summary until the source data settles rather than publish something unreliable. Re-checking after 2026-09-01.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 2.6.16, < 5.10.260>= 5.11, < 5.15.211>= 5.16, < 6.1.177>= 6.2, < 6.6.144>= 6.7, < 6.12.95>= 6.13, < 6.18.38>= 6.19, < 7.1.3

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.10.260 / 5.15.211 / 6.1.177 or later

Fixed in 5.10.2605.15.2116.1.177

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-63796 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2026-63796?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here

Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.10.260 / 5.15.211 or later

Severity 8.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.5%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~18 hrs

ComplexityComplex

Typical engagementfrom $3,200

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2026-63796 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References