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CVE-2026-72121

can: bcm: add locking when updating filter and timer values

8.8 EPSS 0.4% AV:A

Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/can. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-72121 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 12bookwormfixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text6.1.187-1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.101-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.101-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.1.5-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.1.5-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12fixedDLA-4745-1 · 2026-08-18 · text6.12.101-1~deb12u1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4745-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-18, in 6.12.101-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

KCSAN detected a simultaneous access to timer values that can be overwritten in bcm_rx_setup() when updating timer and filter content while bcm_rx_handler(), bcm_rx_timeout_handler() or bcm_rx_thr_handler() run concurrently on incoming CAN traffic. Protect the timer (ival1/ival2/kt_ival1/kt_ival2/kt_lastmsg) and filter (nframes/flags/frames/last_frames) updates in bcm_rx_setup() with a new per-op bcm_rx_update_lock, taken with the matching scope in the RX handlers. memcpy_from_msg() is staged into a temporary buffer before the lock is taken, since it can sleep and must not run under a spinlock. hrtimer_cancel() is always called without bcm_rx_update_lock held, since bcm_rx_timeout_handler()/bcm_rx_thr_handler() take the same lock and a running callback would otherwise deadlock against the canceller. Also close a related race: bcm_rx_setup() cleared the RTR flag in the stored reply frame's can_id as a separate, unprotected step after the frame content was already installed, so a concurrent bcm_rx_handler() could transmit a stale reply with CAN_RTR_FLAG still set. Fold that normalization into the initial frame preparation instead (on the staged buffer for updates, directly on op->frames pre-registration for new ops), so the installed frame is always atomically self-consistent. bcm_rx_handler()'s RX_RTR_FRAME check now takes a lock-protected snapshot of op->flags before deciding whether to call bcm_can_tx(), but does not hold the lock across that call. Also take a lock-protected snapshot of the currframe in bcm_can_tx() to avoid partly overwrites by content updates in bcm_tx_setup(). Finally check if a TX_RESET_MULTI_IDX/SETTIMER might have reset op->currframe between the two locked sections in bcm_can_tx(). Omit calling hrtimer_forward() with zero interval in bcm_rx_thr_handler(). kt_ival2 may have been concurrently cleared by bcm_rx_setup() before it cancels this timer, so check kt_ival2 inside the bcm_rx_update_lock.

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/can/bcm.c

What this is
CAN NETWORK LAYERMAINTAINERS section matched on net/can/ · linux-can@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Kernel module
can_bcm

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_CAN|CONFIG_CAN_BCM' /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 can_bcm

Prints 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.

  • bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12Mnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
M
a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
Build switches
CONFIG_CAN, CONFIG_CAN_BCM
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
2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
CVSS
8.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
adjacent network (AV:A)source
EPSS
0.35%, higher than 27.6% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
net/can

Upstream fixes

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

IntroducedFixed inCommit
5.10.2385.10.26596994180bd7b
5.15.1855.15.216caa8704a7f3c
6.1.1416.1.183a7c369e7da82
6.6.936.6.148a7eb6db1cd3f
6.12.316.12.101834cbca3b12e
6.156.18.4219b1994069dd
6.157.1.5fc9f5ee1b073
6.157.2749179c2e25b
5.4.29400
6.14.900

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DLA-4777-12026-09-08bookworm 6.1.187-1tracker
DLA-4745-12026-08-18bookworm 6.12.101-1~deb12u1tracker

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:AAttack vector, adjacent network
The race is driven by concurrent CAN frame reception in bcm_rx_handler()/timer callbacks on a shared CAN segment (automotive OBD/ECU bus, factory controllers, CAN-USB adapters), an adjacent broadcast medium comparable to Bluetooth/WiFi segment access.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
An attacker controls both race sides by flooding RX_SETUP via sendmsg while concurrently injecting matching CAN frames or armed timers; syzbot reliably reproduced the KCSAN race without timing conditions beyond attacker control.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
CAN_BCM sockets impose no capability checks in can_create()/bcm_sendmsg(), and a bus participant can trigger the RX handler path without any Linux credentials while racing BCM configuration updates from local services.
UI:NUser interaction, none
Exploitation requires no victim interaction beyond normal background CAN/BCM activity on systems that already use the Broadcast Manager for monitoring or diagnostics.
S:UScope, unchanged
Impact is confined to kernel memory corruption and privilege boundaries within the same host; this is not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or cross-authority sandbox breakout.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
Unlocked concurrent updates to nframes/flags/frames/last_frames permit torn reads and out-of-bounds accesses in handler loops and timeout memset, matching the prior BCM race class that produced KASAN slab-out-of-bounds reads.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
Partial overwrites of op->frames during bcm_can_tx(), stale RTR replies transmitted on the bus, and size-mismatched memset/memcpy against concurrently shrinking buffers enable arbitrary CAN injection and kernel heap corruption.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Concurrent timer corruption (hrtimer_forward with zero kt_ival2), torn structure fields, and heap corruption from racing memset/copy operations can cause kernel oops, panic, or sustained denial of service on CAN-equipped systems.