Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-79979

#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 80900
##
# (C) Tenable, Inc.
##

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(372361);
  script_version("1.4");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2026/10/30");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2026-79979");

  script_name(english:"Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-79979");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be
patched.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied
patch available.

  - The arm64 MMU backend invalidates a single virtual address from the TLB with invalidate_tlb_page() in
    arch/arm64/core/mmu.c, which issued TLBI VAE1{IS} with an operand of virt >> 12. That operand encodes the
    ASID in bits [63:48], so the invalidation only ever matched ASID 0 (the kernel page tables) and global
    entries. Memory domains, however, are allocated ASIDs starting at 1 in arch_mem_domain_init(), and every
    domain-private leaf created by private_map() is mapped with MT_NG, i.e. non-global. A domain's cached
    translation therefore survived the invalidation. All callers of invalidate_tlb_page() are demand-paging
    paths. When the eviction algorithm reclaims a frame, page_frame_prepare_locked() in kernel/mmu.c calls
    arch_mem_page_out(), which marks the kernel leaf invalid, propagates the invalid descriptor into every
    domain via sync_domains(), and then flushes only ASID 0. do_page_fault() immediately reuses the very same
    page frame for the incoming mapping through arch_mem_page_in(). A user thread that had already touched the
    evicted page  a k_mem_partition added with arch_mem_domain_partition_add(), or its own stack mapped by
    map_thread_stack()  retains a valid EL0 read/write translation to that physical frame under its own ASID.
    Unprivileged code running in a user thread can drive memory pressure to force eviction and then keep
    accessing the stale address, obtaining read and write access to whatever the kernel subsequently placed in
    that frame: supervisor data, another memory domain's partition, or another thread's stack. This defeats
    the isolation that CONFIG_USERSPACE is meant to enforce, allowing information disclosure and memory
    corruption up to full compromise of the system. The fix switches the implementation to TLBI VAAE1{IS},
    which matches every ASID and both global and non-global entries, so no domain-tagged translation survives
    a page out, dirty-bit update or access-flag clear. Exploitation requires an arm64 build with both
    CONFIG_USERSPACE and CONFIG_DEMAND_PAGING enabled, an active backing store, and at least one demand-paged
    page that is also privately mapped into a user memory domain. The same commit additionally stops
    globalize_table() from stripping EL0 permission and non-global attributes off domain-private leaves during
    paging synchronization, which previously caused user threads to lose access to their own partitions and
    stacks. (CVE-2026-79979)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-79979");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"There is no known solution at this time.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"agent", value:"unix");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:L/AC:H/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2026-79979");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vendor_unpatched", value:"true");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2026/10/23");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2026/10/27");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"local");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:22.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:24.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:26.04:-:lts");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:26.10");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"p-cpe:/a:canonical:ubuntu_linux:zephyr");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"generated_plugin", value:"current");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Misc.");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2026 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("ssh_get_info2.nasl", "set_linux_os_id.nasl");
  script_require_keys("Host/cpu", "Host/local_checks_enabled", "global_settings/vendor_unpatched", "Host/OS/identifier");
  script_require_ports("Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-16.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-18.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-20.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-22.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-24.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-26.04", "Host/OS/Ubuntu Linux-26.10");

  exit(0);
}

if (!get_kb_item("global_settings/vendor_unpatched")) exit(0, "Unpatched Vulnerabilities Detection not active.");
if (!get_kb_item("Host/local_checks_enabled")) audit(AUDIT_LOCAL_CHECKS_NOT_ENABLED);
if (empty_or_null(get_one_kb_item("Host/Debian/dpkg-l"))) audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_LIST_MISSING);

include('linux_unpatched.inc');

var distro_constraints_array = {
  "Ubuntu Linux-16.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "16.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-18.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "18.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-20.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "20.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-22.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "22.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-24.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "24.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-26.04": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "26.04",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Ubuntu Linux-26.10": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "26.10",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "zephyr"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
};

var distro_constraints_values = linux_unpatched::get_distro_constraints(distro_constraints_arr:distro_constraints_array);
if (empty_or_null(distro_constraints_values)) audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');

var third_party_support = get_kb_item('Host/OS/extended-third-party');
if (!empty_or_null(third_party_support)) {
    var third_party_vendors = distro_constraints_values['third_party'];
    if (!empty_or_null(third_party_vendors)) {
        var vendor;
        foreach vendor (third_party_vendors) {
            if (vendor == third_party_support) exit(0, 'A third party management patch is available for this vulnerability from ' + vendor + '.\n');
        }
    }
}

var report = linux_unpatched::check_unpatched_constraints(distro_constraints_values:distro_constraints_values);

if (!empty_or_null(report))
{
  security_report_v4(
      port       : 0,
      severity   : SECURITY_WARNING,
      extra      : report
  );
  exit(0);
}
else
{
  audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');
}