Exploit Released for Unpatched Ubuntu Linux Flaw Enabling Host-Root Container Escape
Unpatched Linux kernel flaw (CVE-2026-80521) enables container escape to host root, with exploit code released for Ubuntu.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_unix: Unlink scc_entry in unix_del_edge(). Kyle Zeng reported that GC could free a dead SCC partially. The scenario is as follows: 1) Create two SCCs: X -. A B ^--' 2) Run the following concurrently: 2-1) send() sk-B to sk-B from sk-X 2-2) close() both A and B At 2-1), there is a small window where unix_add_edges() publishes a new edge (B B) to GC but its skb is not queued by skb_queue_tail(). If 2-2) completes before skb_queue_tail() and GC is triggered, it judges A B as dead, but B is not freed because GC cannot collect the not-yet-queued skb holding the B B edge. X -. A B -. This edge is visible ^--' ^..' but skb is not This itself is not a problem since the next GC run will judge B as dead as well and free it finally. X -. A B -. ^--' ^--' However, X's SCC forces the next GC to call unix_walk_scc_fast(), and it iterates over A through B's scc_entry. Let's unlink scc_entry before freeing the vertex in unix_del_edge().
Unpatched Linux kernel flaw (CVE-2026-80521) enables container escape to host root, with exploit code released for Ubuntu.
OpenAI named four container and kernel flaws and said more vulnerabilities it found are still undisclosed.
DepthFirst showed CVE-2026-80521, a Linux AF_UNIX use-after-free, can escape containers sharing the host kernel.
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