# CVE-2026-98258: posix-cpu-timers: Prevent freeing a timer which is queued on the expiry list CVE-2026-98258 is fixed in 20 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98258, released October 6, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High. - Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98258 - Priority: High - CVSS: 7.8 (high) - EPSS: 0.0019 - CISA KEV: not listed - Exploited (vendor report): no - Publicly disclosed: no - Published: Oct 6, 2026 - Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98258 ## Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-cpu-timers: Prevent freeing a timer which is queued on the expiry list Kijo analyzed another race in the POSIX CPU timer code: Commit bf635681c906 converted cpu_timer::firing from a tristate value to a boolean. This lost the distinction between "not owned by the firing list" and "still owned, but delivery was canceled". The resulting race is: expiry handler timer_settime() timer_delete() -------------- --------------- -------------- collect timer onto private firing list firing = true observes firing = true firing = false return TIMER_RETRY wait for handler observes firing = false finish deletion unhash and free timer resume list traversal read freed elist.next -> UAF The firing bit is clearly the wrong indicator since that commit. Check whether the timer is queued on the expiry list or not instead. If it is queued clear the firing bit to prevent signal delivery as before and return TIMER_RETRY so the caller unlocks the timer which allows the expiry code to make progress and remove it from the list. ## Where it's fixed | Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released | |---|---|---|---|---| | Linux | bpftool6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | bpftool6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-livepatch-6.18.54-121.166 amzn 2023 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-aarch64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-x86_64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-headers amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra-common amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.8-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98258](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98258.md) | Oct 6, 2026 | | Linux | microvm-kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | --- Data as of 2026-11-08T06:59:42Z UTC. 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