7.8 CVE-2026-53264
Enriched by CISA Patch
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/sched: act_api: use RCU with deferred freeing for action lifecycle
When NEWTFILTER and DELFILTER are run concurrently it is possible to create a
race with an associated action.
Let's illustrate with CPU0 running NEWTFILTER and CPU1 running DELFILTER:
0: mutex_lock() <-- holds the idr lock
0: rcu_read_lock()
0: p = idr_find(idr, index) <-- action p is valid (RCU protects IDR)
0: mutex_unlock() <-- releases the idr lock
1: refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock() <-- refcnt 1->0, mutex held
1: idr_remove(idr, index) <-- Action removed from IDR
1: mutex_unlock() <-- mutex released allowing us to delete the action
1: tcf_action_cleanup(p); kfree(p) <-- Kfrees p immediately, no deferral
0: refcount_inc_not_zero(&p->tcfa_refcnt) <-- ouch, UAF p points to freed memory
This patch fixes the race condition between NEWTFILTER and DELFILTER by
adding struct rcu_head to tc_action used in the deferral and introducing a
call_rcu() in the delete path to defer the final kfree().
Note: this is a revert of commit d7fb60b9cafb ("net_sched: get rid of tcfa_rcu")
but also modernization/simplification to directly use kfree_rcu().
Let's illustrate the new restored code path:
0: rcu_read_lock()
1: refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock() <-- refcnt 1->0, mutex held
1: idr_remove(idr, index)
1: mutex_unlock()
1: call_rcu(&p->tcfa_rcu, tcf_action_rcu_free) <-- defer kfree after grace period
0: p = idr_find(idr, index)
0: refcount_inc_not_zero(&p->tcfa_refcnt) <-- fails, refcnt already 0
1: rcu_read_unlock() <-- release so freeing can run after grace period
After CPU1 calls idr_remove(), the object is no longer reachable through the IDR.
CPU0's subsequent idr_find() will return NULL, and even if it still held a
stale pointer, the immediate kfree() is now deferred until after the RCU grace
period, so no UAF can occur.
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53264
Categories
CWE-416 : Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. If the product accesses a previously-freed pointer, then it means that a separate weakness or error already occurred previously, such as a race condition, an unexpected or poorly handled error condition, confusion over which part of the program is responsible for freeing the memory, performing the free too soon, etc. a pointer that no longer points to valid memory, often after it has been freed commonly used acronym for Use After Free Fuzz testing (fuzzing) is a powerful technique for generating large numbers of diverse inputs - either randomly or algorithmically - and dynamically invoking the code with those inputs. Even with random inputs, it is often capable of generating unexpected results such as crashes, memory corruption, or resource consumption. Fuzzing effectively produces repeatable test cases that clearly indicate bugs, which helps developers to diagnose the issues. Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.) Use tools that are integrated duringcompilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanismsrelated to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer(ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518]. Choose a language that provides automatic memory management. When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy. TCP/IP code for an OS has a use-after-free that can leak heap memory contents Chain: an operating system kernel has insufficent resource locking (CWE-413) leading to a use after free (CWE-416). Chain: two threads in a web browser use the same resource (CWE-366), but one of those threads can destroy the resource before the other has completed (CWE-416). Chain: mobile platform race condition (CWE-362) leading to use-after-free (CWE-416), as exploited in the wild per CISA KEV. Chain: race condition (CWE-362) leads to use-after-free (CWE-416), as exploited in the wild per CISA KEV. Use-after-free triggered by closing a connection while data is still being transmitted. Improper allocation for invalid data leads to use-after-free. certificate with a large number of Subject Alternate Names not properly handled in realloc, leading to use-after-free Timers are not disabled when a related object is deleted Access to a "dead" object that is being cleaned up object is deleted even with a non-zero reference count, and later accessed use-after-free involving request containing an invalid version number unload of an object that is currently being accessed by other functionality incorrectly tracking a reference count leads to use-after-free use-after-free related to use of uninitialized memory HTML document with incorrectly-nested tags Use after free in ActiveX object by providing a malformed argument to a method use-after-free by disconnecting during data transfer, or a message containing incorrect data types disconnect during a large data transfer causes incorrect reference count, leading to use-after-free use-after-free found by fuzzing Chain: race condition (CWE-362) from improper handling of a page transition in web client while an applet is loading (CWE-368) leads to use after free (CWE-416) realloc generates new buffer and pointer, but previous pointer is still retained, leading to use after free Use-after-free in web browser, probably resultant from not initializing memory. use-after-free when one thread accessed memory that was freed by another thread assignment of malformed values to certain properties triggers use after free mail server does not properly handle a long header. chain: integer overflow leads to use-after-free freed pointer dereference Chain: A multi-threaded race condition (CWE-367) allows attackers to cause two threads to process the same RPC request, which causes a use-after-free (CWE-416) in one thread
References
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Patch
AFFECTED (from MITRE)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
| Linux | Linux |
|
| © 2022 The MITRE Corporation. This work is reproduced and distributed with the permission of The MITRE Corporation. | ||
CPE
| cpe | start | end |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration 1 | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 4.14 | < 5.10.259 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 5.11 | < 5.15.210 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 5.16 | < 6.1.176 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 6.2 | < 6.6.143 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 6.7 | < 6.12.94 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 6.13 | < 6.18.36 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | >= 6.19 | < 7.0.13 |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
REMEDIATION
Patch
EXPLOITS
Exploit-db.com
| id | description | date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No known exploits | |||
POC Github
| Url |
|---|
| No known exploits |
Other Nist (github, ...)
| Url |
|---|
| No known exploits |
CAPEC
Common Attack Pattern Enumerations and Classifications
| id | description | severity |
|---|---|---|
| No entry | ||
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