data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

Look up another CVE · open CVE-2026-53197 in the interactive tracker

CVE-2026-53197

xfrm: iptfs: fix ABBA deadlock in iptfs_destroy_state()

EPSS 0.1%

Published 2026-06-25 (4 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/xfrm. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-53197 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixienot affected6.12.113-1Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.0.13-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.0.13-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

iptfs_destroy_state() calls hrtimer_cancel() while holding a spinlock that the timer callback also acquires, leading to an ABBA deadlock on SMP systems. For the output timer (iptfs_timer): - iptfs_destroy_state() holds x->lock, calls hrtimer_cancel() - iptfs_delay_timer() callback takes x->lock For the drop timer (drop_timer): - iptfs_destroy_state() holds drop_lock, calls hrtimer_cancel() - iptfs_drop_timer() callback takes drop_lock Both timers use HRTIMER_MODE_REL_SOFT, so their callbacks run in softirq context. When hrtimer_cancel() is called for a soft timer that is currently executing on another CPU, hrtimer_cancel_wait_running() spins on softirq_expiry_lock -- the same lock held by the softirq running the callback. If the callback is blocked waiting for the spinlock held by the caller of hrtimer_cancel(), a circular dependency forms: CPU 0: holds lock_A -> waits for softirq_expiry_lock CPU 1: holds softirq_expiry_lock -> waits for lock_A Fix by calling hrtimer_cancel() before acquiring the respective locks. hrtimer_cancel() is safe to call without holding any lock and will wait for any in-progress callback to complete. For the output timer, the lock is still acquired afterwards to drain the packet queue. For the drop timer, the lock/unlock pair is removed entirely since it only existed to serialize with the timer callback, which hrtimer_cancel() already guarantees. Found by source code audit.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

net/xfrm/xfrm_iptfs.c

What this is
NETWORKING [IPSEC]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/xfrm/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_XFRM|CONFIG_XFRM_IPTFS' /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian does not build this code in 2 releases. The build rule could not be established for 2 releases, so nothing is claimed about those.

  • bookworm, trixie?
  • forky, sidn
?
not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
n
not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code

Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.

Build switches
CONFIG_XFRM, CONFIG_XFRM_IPTFS
Reads as
all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-06-25 (4 months ago)source
CVSS
no vector published, unrated
Attack vector
not published
EPSS
0.09%, higher than 0.5% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
net/xfrm

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.146.18.36a13ca53e47e5
6.147.0.13822b98d354e6
6.147.1c8a8a75b7334

Why the CNA scored it this way

The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-53197, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.