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Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 03:17 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-99016

Linux kernel: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access access_ok() checks untagged_addr(uaddr), but arch_futex_atomic_op_inuser() and futex_atomic_cmpxchg_inatomic() hand the raw uaddr to the inline asm amoswap/amoadd/.../lr.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
7.8 High (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.2% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-99016 (opens a new tab)

What happened

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

riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access

access_ok() checks untagged_addr(uaddr), but arch_futex_atomic_op_inuser() and futex_atomic_cmpxchg_inatomic() hand the raw uaddr to the inline asm amoswap/amoadd/.../lr.w+sc.w through the "+m" (*uaddr) operand. When the tagged address ABI is enabled (CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_SUPM, prctl PR_SET_TAGGED_ADDR_CTRL with PMLEN !

= 0), those two addresses differ: a user pointer whose top PMLEN bits hold a tag passes access_ok() after untagging, but the atomic is then performed on the still-tagged raw address.

Continue reading

Supervisor-mode data accesses are not subject to the U-mode pointer masking (that is governed by menvcfg.PMM, which the kernel does not set), so hardware does not strip the tag for the kernel's own access. With Sv57 and PMLEN=16 the tag bits overlap the canonical-address bits, so a tagged pointer can name a canonical kernel virtual address (e.g. in the linear map) whose untagged form is a valid user address.

An unprivileged process can thus make FUTEX_WAKE_OP perform an atomic read-modify-write on an arbitrary kernel address, with the matching FUTEX_OP_CMP_* result serving as a read oracle.

get_user()/put_user()/raw_copy_{to,from}_user() already untag the pointer after the access_ok() check; do the same in the futex helpers so the atomic operates on the address that was actually validated.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

7.8

Version 3.1As of

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

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.2%

Scored Percentile 6.7%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-99016 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-99016, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 24). Linux kernel: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access (CVE-2026-99016). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99016

MLA

"Linux kernel: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access (CVE-2026-99016)." KEVWire, 24 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99016.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access (CVE-2026-99016)." Last modified October 24, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-99016.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access (Oct 23, 2026).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

riscv: futex: untag the user pointer before the atomic access

access_ok() checks untagged_addr(uaddr), but arch_futex_atomic_op_inuser()
and futex_atomic_cmpxchg_inatomic() hand the raw uaddr to the inline asm
amoswap/amoadd/.../lr.w+sc.w through the "+m" (*uaddr) operand.  When the
tagged address ABI is enabled (CONFIG_RISCV_ISA_SUPM, prctl
PR_SET_TAGGED_ADDR_CTRL with PMLEN != 0), those two addresses differ: a
user pointer whose top PMLEN bits hold a tag passes access_ok() after
untagging, but the atomic is then performed on the still-tagged raw
address.

Supervisor-mode data accesses are not subject to the U-mode pointer
masking (that is governed by menvcfg.PMM, which the kernel does not set),
so hardware does not strip the tag for the kernel's own access.  With
Sv57 and PMLEN=16 the tag bits overlap the canonical-address bits, so a
tagged pointer can name a canonical kernel virtual address (e.g. in the
linear map) whose untagged form is a valid user address.  An unprivileged
process can thus make FUTEX_WAKE_OP perform an atomic read-modify-write on
an arbitrary kernel address, with the matching FUTEX_OP_CMP_* result
serving as a read oracle.

get_user()/put_user()/raw_copy_{to,from}_user() already untag the pointer
after the access_ok() check; do the same in the futex helpers so the
atomic operates on the address that was actually validated.
CVSS 7.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 24, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99016).
EPSS 0.2% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99016&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-99016: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99016
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?pubStartDate=2026-10-12T13:35:55.142Z&pubEndDate=2026-10-26T13:35:55.142Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=9000
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99016&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-99016.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 27, 2026, 01:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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Record details

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