In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link()
The afs filesystem in the kernel doesn't do locking correctly for symbolic
links. There are a number of problems:
(1) It doesn't do any locking around afs_read_single() to prevent races
between multiple ->get_link() calls, thereby allowing the possibility
of leaks.
(2) It doesn't use RCU barriering when accessing the buffer pointers
during RCU pathwalk.
(3) It can race with another thread updating the contents of the symlink
if a third party updated it on the server.
Fix this by the following means:
(0) Move symlink handling into its own file as this makes it more
complicated.
(1) Take the validate_lock around afs_read_single() to prevent races
between multiple ->get_link() calls.
(2) Keep a separate copy of the symlink contents with an rcu_head. This
is always going to be a lot smaller than a page, so it can be
kmalloc'd and save quite a bit of memory. It also needs a refcount
for non-RCU pathwalk.
(3) Split the symlink read and write-to-cache routines in afs from those
for directories.
(4) Discard the I/O buffer as soon as the write-to-cache completes as this
is a full page (plus a folio_queue).
(5) If there's no cache, discard the I/O buffer immediately after reading
and copying if there is no cache.
afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link()
The afs filesystem in the kernel doesn't do locking correctly for symbolic
links. There are a number of problems:
(1) It doesn't do any locking around afs_read_single() to prevent races
between multiple ->get_link() calls, thereby allowing the possibility
of leaks.
(2) It doesn't use RCU barriering when accessing the buffer pointers
during RCU pathwalk.
(3) It can race with another thread updating the contents of the symlink
if a third party updated it on the server.
Fix this by the following means:
(0) Move symlink handling into its own file as this makes it more
complicated.
(1) Take the validate_lock around afs_read_single() to prevent races
between multiple ->get_link() calls.
(2) Keep a separate copy of the symlink contents with an rcu_head. This
is always going to be a lot smaller than a page, so it can be
kmalloc'd and save quite a bit of memory. It also needs a refcount
for non-RCU pathwalk.
(3) Split the symlink read and write-to-cache routines in afs from those
for directories.
(4) Discard the I/O buffer as soon as the write-to-cache completes as this
is a full page (plus a folio_queue).
(5) If there's no cache, discard the I/O buffer immediately after reading
and copying if there is no cache.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
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Advisories
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Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sun, 19 Jul 2026 16:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link() The afs filesystem in the kernel doesn't do locking correctly for symbolic links. There are a number of problems: (1) It doesn't do any locking around afs_read_single() to prevent races between multiple ->get_link() calls, thereby allowing the possibility of leaks. (2) It doesn't use RCU barriering when accessing the buffer pointers during RCU pathwalk. (3) It can race with another thread updating the contents of the symlink if a third party updated it on the server. Fix this by the following means: (0) Move symlink handling into its own file as this makes it more complicated. (1) Take the validate_lock around afs_read_single() to prevent races between multiple ->get_link() calls. (2) Keep a separate copy of the symlink contents with an rcu_head. This is always going to be a lot smaller than a page, so it can be kmalloc'd and save quite a bit of memory. It also needs a refcount for non-RCU pathwalk. (3) Split the symlink read and write-to-cache routines in afs from those for directories. (4) Discard the I/O buffer as soon as the write-to-cache completes as this is a full page (plus a folio_queue). (5) If there's no cache, discard the I/O buffer immediately after reading and copying if there is no cache. | |
| Title | afs: Fix the locking used by afs_get_link() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-07-19T15:39:38.321Z
Reserved: 2026-07-19T07:54:57.030Z
Link: CVE-2026-64057
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
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Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.