---
id: CVE-2026-89618
title: >-
  kernel: eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()
  (CVE-2026-89618)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's eventfs component. When the
  `eventfs_create_dir()` function fails due to memory pressure, an uninitialized
  internal data structure can cause the system to issue a misleading warning
  during the cleanup…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-824
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-18'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-18T22:40:27+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89618.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89618.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-89618'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532303'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89618'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89618'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-89618.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1704aaaf5d22bc765c168402350d191e24e245bc'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5333e18e6b425fcc39c7fea89e3949a2a98bc5e4'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76e0f85f650738d768449dbccbc7c55d05f5b609'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c480f8af173d5b19c6d9c4311df6bbe352face9e'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/069729282fbecfaa8a54062266c338ed23f08005'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00175
epssPercentile: 0.07286
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.450Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's eventfs component. When the `eventfs_create_dir()` function fails due to memory pressure, an uninitialized internal data structure can cause the system to issue a misleading warning during the cleanup process. This incorrect error reporting could lead to confusion in system diagnostics.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-09-18 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89618.json)

**kernel: eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-18.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Fix deferred