How severe is CVE-2026-53361?

CVE-2026-53361 has a CVSS score of 7.1/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-53361?

CVE-2026-53361 affects the following packages: Kernel (Linux). Ecosystems affected: Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2026-53361?

Update Kernel to 6.1.183 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-53361 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-53361 in my Linux dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-53361 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Is CVE-2026-53361 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2026-53361, including . All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-53361?

CVE-2026-53361 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.2%, placing it in the 13th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was CVE-2026-53361 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-53361 was published on July 4, 2026 and was last updated on September 17, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐧

🐧 Linux

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2026-53361 — Kernel

HIGH

CVE-2026-53361 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.1) vulnerability in Kernel. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for Kernel — see the affected versions and patch details below.

af_unix: Set gc_in_progress to true in unix_gc().

Published

Jul 4, 2026

Updated

Sep 17, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Sep 30, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs13th percentile — riskier than 13% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2026-53361 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 380,526 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐧Kernel

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

af_unix: Set gc_in_progress to true in unix_gc().

Igor Ushakov reported that unix_gc() could run with gc_in_progress being false if the work is scheduled while running:

Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3

               unix_schedule_gc()           unix_schedule_gc()
               `- if (!gc_in_progress)      `- if (!gc_in_progress)
                  |- gc_in_progress = true     |
                  `- queue_work()              |

unix_gc() <----------------/ | | |- gc_in_progress = true ... - queue_work() | | - gc_in_progress = false | | unix_gc() <---------------------------------------------' | ... /* gc_in_progress == false */ | `- gc_in_progress = false

unix_peek_fpl() relies on gc_in_progress not to confuse GC by MSG_PEEK.

Let's set gc_in_progress to true in unix_gc().

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐧Linux	`Kernel`	≥ 6.2.0&&< 6.1.183	6.1.183

Affected Products

1 product · 7 configurations

linux kernellinux

≥ 6.19 && < 7.1

1 version

7.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

sgkdev/bad_garbage

CVE-2026-53361 AF_UNIX GC vs MSG_PEEK use-after-free container escape

⭐ 25🍴 6Sep 2026

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update Kernel to 6.1.183 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-53361 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10	`kernel-0:6.12.0-211.55.1.el10_2`	RHSA-2026:67471
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support	`kernel-0:6.12.0-55.102.1.el10_0`	RHSA-2026:62609

UbuntuHIGH

USN-8726-1Ubuntu USN-8727-1Ubuntu USN-8728-1Ubuntu USN-8760-1Ubuntu USN-8781-1Ubuntu USN-8726-2Ubuntu USN-8726-3Ubuntu USN-8800-1Ubuntu

Frequently Asked Questions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Set gc_in_progress to true in unix_gc(). Igor Ushakov reported that unix_gc() could run with gc_in_progress being false if the work is scheduled while running: Thread 1 Thread 2 Thread 3 -------- -------- -------- unix_schedule_gc() unix_schedule_gc() `- if (!gc_in_progress) `- if (!gc_in_progress) |- gc_in_progress = true | `- queue_work() |

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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