New "Bad Epoll" Linux Kernel Flaw Lets Unprivileged Users Gain Root, Hits Android

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New "Bad Epoll" Linux Kernel Flaw Lets Unprivileged Users Gain Root, Hits Android

Thehackernews •[email protected] (The Hacker News) • July 3, 2026

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Critical Bad Epoll Vulnerability Grants Root Access to Unprivileged Users A newly disclosed Linux kernel vulnerability, named Bad Epoll (CVE-2026-46242), allows unprivileged local users to escalate to root privileges on systems running kernel version 6.4 or later. This use-after-free vulnerability resides in the epoll subsystem, which is critical for I/O event notification in Linux. The flaw affects desktops, servers, cloud workloads, and Android devices. A working exploit has been demonstrated with a 99% success rate, highlighting the severity of the issue. The vulnerability was disclosed on July 3, 2026, but a patch has been available since April 24, 2026, and many distributions have yet to implement it. The incident raises concerns about the effectiveness of AI-assisted security tools, as a prior examination by Anthropic's Mythos failed to identify this flaw. Immediate action is required to mitigate potential exploitation. 10 sources 75

Extracted Entities

Attack Types (1)

Zero-day Exploit

MITRE ATT&CK (1)

T1068 - Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Platforms (2)

Vulnerabilities (1)