---
id: CVE-2026-98443
title: >-
  kernel: xfs: fix cursor and pointer handling when recovering iunlink buckets
  (CVE-2026-98443)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's XFS file system. Improper pointer
  handling during the recovery of unlinked files can cause a use-after-free
  condition, where the operating system attempts to access memory after it has
  already been fr…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.4
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-825
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-24'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-24T14:23:06+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98443.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98443.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98443'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554894'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98443'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98443'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98443.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47a948ba653a463d429e02fda2f06a3d6b78666d'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c9d5b8a96d6b93eb24e07b4163c89341ba29bd1'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/66a2179d02668f8df44b1a249899006f3ba38ea0'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/961c717e6bf0e53c2c2b1fe4aef1add9390fedab'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65f39d09d73718611cee40399179323b5d4ead00'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00135
epssPercentile: 0.02969
scores:
  vendor: 4.4
  cna: 7.8
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.306Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's XFS file system. Improper pointer handling during the recovery of unlinked files can cause a use-after-free condition, where the operating system attempts to access memory after it has already been freed. A local user capable of mounting a specially crafted file system could exploit this vulnerability during recovery operations, leading to memory corruption or a system crash resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-24 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98443.json)

**kernel: xfs: fix cursor and pointer handling when recovering iunlink buckets** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-24.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope