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CVE-2026-63803
hdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state
Published 2026-07-19 (3 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-63803 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
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.177-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.177-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.95-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.95-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.3-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.3-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.3-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.3-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
Each PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp registers a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the hdlc->state allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree() in both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside attach_hdlc_protocol(). The ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so detach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the kfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(&proto->timer) in ppp_cp_event(), is partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the ->CLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A ppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp->lock) survives the kfree and then dereferences proto->state / ppp->lock in freed memory, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on every per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto->detach(dev) before kfree(hdlc->state), so timer_shutdown_sync() now runs on both free paths. timer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the keepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and shutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown. Initialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is attached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so that the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and ppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list structures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so struct ppp's protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first timer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol without ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync() operating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of ppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the initialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list twice. This bug was found by static analysis.
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.
drivers/net/wan/hdlc_ppp.c
- What this is
- GENERIC HDLC (WAN) DRIVERSMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/wan/hdlc* · Maintained
- Kernel module
- hdlc_ppp
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_HDLC_PPP|CONFIG_WAN' /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.
lsmod | grep -w hdlc_pppPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, loong64/loong64, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_HDLC_PPP, CONFIG_WAN
- 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
- 2026-07-19 (3 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.13%, higher than 2.5% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/net
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 2.6.12 | 5.10.261 | 86d80a231bde |
| 2.6.12 | 5.15.211 | 8308122bc9c0 |
| 2.6.12 | 6.1.177 | ce8f9ddca0c9 |
| 2.6.12 | 6.6.144 | 508a0139d3bf |
| 2.6.12 | 6.12.95 | c64dbef1c0fb |
| 2.6.12 | 6.18.38 | 5a84398101bf |
| 2.6.12 | 7.1.3 | a594debfd4e7 |
| 2.6.12 | 7.2 | c78a4e41ab5e |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4717-1 | 2026-08-05 | bullseye 5.10.262-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4700-1 | 2026-07-26 | bullseye 6.1.177-1~deb11u1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The UAF occurs in detach_hdlc_protocol() during protocol teardown via SIOCWANDEV ioctl or driver unregister, not during packet receive. Remote PPP peers can influence timers but cannot reach the kfree() path without local CAP_NET_ADMIN configuration actions.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker with CAP_NET_ADMIN can reliably trigger the bug by bringing a PPP HDLC interface up (arming timers via ppp_start/LCP), then tearing down or re-attaching the protocol while timers are pending or a ppp_timer callback is blocked on ppp->lock, controlling both sides of the race.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Exploitation requires CAP_NET_ADMIN to attach/detach the PPP protocol via SIOCWANDEV (ppp_ioctl checks capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN)), which is reachable by unprivileged users who create user namespaces with CAP_NET_ADMIN per kernel CVSS guidance.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is required once the attacker has network administration capability on a system with an HDLC WAN device; exploitation is fully attacker-driven through ioctl and interface up/down operations.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The use-after-free corrupts kernel heap memory within the same kernel security boundary, enabling local privilege escalation rather than crossing a VM, container, or IOMMU security boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Use-after-free of struct ppp and its embedded spinlock_t allows dereferencing attacker-influenced freed heap memory, which can be leveraged for arbitrary kernel memory read via heap grooming and controlled reuse of the freed slab object.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The UAF on struct ppp and ppp->lock provides a standard kernel heap corruption primitive that can be developed into arbitrary write and local privilege escalation through control of reallocated object contents and spinlock corruption.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The freed-memory dereference in ppp_timer() causes kernel oops or panic during protocol teardown, and repeated triggering during interface reconfiguration can cause sustained denial of service on WAN router systems.