---
id: "CVE-2026-98533"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98533"]
title: "Linux kernel: IPE dm-verity root hash freed while still in use"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["dm-verity", "infrastructure", "ipe", "linux-kernel", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["ipe-disabled"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:04+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:23:50+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98533", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: IPE dm-verity root hash freed while still in use

The Linux kernel's IPE (Integrity Policy Enforcement) module can free an old dm-verity root hash while policy evaluation is still reading it, a use-after-free race. The sources do not say what an attacker gains from it.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream commit resolving CVE-2026-98533 (version unknown from the sources)

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98533

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ipe: protect the dm-verity root hash with RCU

ipe_bdev_setintegrity() frees the old root hash when dm-verity publishes
a new one on ->preresume, while policy evaluation can still be
dereferencing it.

Protect the root hash with RCU. The evaluation path already runs under
rcu_read_lock().

[FW: remove model name according to latest guideline]

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_