CVE-2026-99181
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's autofs (automount file system) subsystem. A local attacker can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by initiating file system lookups while the automount daemon is restarting. Due to mishandled errors from an obsolete communication pipe, the kernel incorrectly shuts down the newly replaced pipe, causing subsequent autofs lookups and mount requests to fail.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as having Moderate severity for Red Hat enterprise environments because exploitation requires unprivileged local access and precise timing during an automounter restart, resulting strictly in the disruption of autofs requests without memory corruption or privilege escalation. Although the underlying autofs subsystem is present across Red Hat Enterprise Linux installations, active risk is limited to systems where automount services are deployed to handle dynamic mounts such as network file shares. Systems where automount daemons are inactive or not exposed to untrusted local users are not susceptible to this denial of service.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.7 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic; Unexpected State
The main problem is that -- if a lock is overcome -- data could be altered in a bad state.
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