CVE-2026-90013
HIGHCVE-2026-90013 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-90013 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
tracing: Take trace_array reference when opening options file
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:
tracing: Take trace_array reference when opening options file
The options files do not take the trace_array reference for the options they represent. This could cause a use-after-free kernel crash if one of these files is opened by one task and another task removes the instance that the option is for. Because it doesn't take a reference upon opening, it will not stop the removal which will free the options descriptor that is being used.
As the options are somewhat dynamic in their creation at boot up, each file represents a flag in the trace_array. The trace_array has an array of indexes to represent each of these flags that is stored in the trace_flags_index array. The address of the index array element is used to pass to the inode->i_private pointer. Then that element is read which holds the index (which represents the flag) and then the index is used to calculate the trace_array descriptor from its trace_flags_index array.
One issue is that the index element can not be referenced until the trace_array's reference is taken. To handle this, create a new helper function called: trace_array_options_get() that will iterate all the existing trace_arrays in the ftrace_trace_arrays list (under the trace_types_lock), and compare the passed in address of the index element with the entire array of the trace_array's trace_flags_index array. If it matches, then up the corresponding trace_array's reference and return.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 2.6.30&&< 6.18.52 | 6.18.52 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 6.18.52 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-90013 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-90013 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-90013. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-90013 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-90013 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.