CVE-2026-74487: Linux

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: binfmt_misc: restore write access when removing an entry Registering an entry with the MISC_FMT_OPEN_FILE flag opens the interpreter via open_exec() which denies write access to it for as long as the entry exists. Removing the entry closes the interpreter file via filp_close() but never restores write access, leaving the inode's i_writecount permanently negative. Opening the interpreter for writing keeps failing with ETXTBSY long after the entry is gone until the inode is evicted from the inode cache. Commit 90f601b497d7 ("binfmt_misc: restore write access before closing files opened by open_exec()") fixed the same imbalance in the error path of bm_register_write() but the actual removal path has been leaking the write denial since the introduction of the flag. Restore write access in put_binfmt_handler() before closing the interpreter file.

Affected products

• Linux Linux: from 4.8, before 5.10.266 (fixed in 5.10.266); from 5.11, before 5.15.217 (fixed in 5.15.217); from 5.16, before 6.1.184 (fixed in 6.1.184); from 6.2, before 6.6.153 (fixed in 6.6.153); from 6.7, before 6.12.105 (fixed in 6.12.105); from 6.13, before 6.18.44 (fixed in 6.18.44); …

Published 2026-08-15. Last modified 2026-08-23.