Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-33150

Memory Safety in Libfuse Project Libfuse 3.18.0 – 3.18.2

Published
20 March 2026
Modified
15 July 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0031 23th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-33150 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Libfuse Project Libfuse. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 23th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-33150 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the io_uring subsystem of libfuse, the reference implementation of the Linux FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace). It affects versions 3.18.0 through 3.18.1. The flaw occurs when io_uring thread creation fails due to resource exhaustion, such as cgroup pids.max limits; in this case, fuse_uring_start() frees the ring pool structure but retains a dangling pointer in the session state, leading to a use-after-free during session shutdown. Classified as CWE-416 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), it enables local attackers to crash FUSE filesystem processes and potentially execute arbitrary code.

A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability reliably, particularly in containerized environments where cgroup pids.max constraints commonly trigger the thread creation failure. By inducing the resource exhaustion condition and triggering session shutdown, the attacker causes the use-after-free, which can result in denial of service via process crashes or escalation to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the affected FUSE process.

The issue has been addressed in libfuse version 3.18.2, as detailed in the project's security advisory (GHSA-qxv7-xrc2-qmfx), release notes, and the patching commit (49fcd891a58f622c098e2ca67d66086f7b213836). Security practitioners should upgrade to 3.18.2 or later and review deployments using io_uring-enabled FUSE filesystems in containers.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

libfuse is the reference implementation of the Linux FUSE. From version 3.18.0 to before version 3.18.2, a use-after-free vulnerability in the io_uring subsystem of libfuse allows a local attacker to crash FUSE filesystem processes and potentially execute arbitrary code. When…

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io_uring thread creation fails due to resource exhaustion (e.g., cgroup pids.max), fuse_uring_start() frees the ring pool structure but stores the dangling pointer in the session state, leading to a use-after-free when the session shuts down. The trigger is reliable in containerized environments where cgroup pids.max limits naturally constrain thread creation. This issue has been patched in version 3.18.2.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-53085Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-31703Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-12293Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-6754Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-45972Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2024-23310Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-52924Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-4691Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-4696Shared CWE-416, CWE-825
CVE-2026-57435Shared CWE-416, CWE-825

Affected Assets

libfuse project
libfuse
3.18.0 — 3.18.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.

Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.

Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.

Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.AM-08 partial match
prevents

Lifecycle management includes secure development and maintenance phases that reduce memory-safety defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
  • V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416

References