CVE-2026-53361 — Kernel
HIGHCVE-2026-53361 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.1) CWE-362 vulnerability in Kernel. 1 public exploit or proof-of-concept reference is indexed, 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().
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-53361.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-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
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 6.2.0&&< 6.1.183 | 6.1.183 |
Affected Products
linux kernellinuxResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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.
This vulnerability is rated as an Important severity because an authenticated local user can exploit this concurrency issue in socket garbage collection to corrupt kernel memory, potentially resulting in privilege escalation or denial of service. The underlying socket garbage collection routine improperly synchronizes…
| 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 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-53361 in your dependencies?
Find it across Linux, including transitive dependencies.