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CVE-2026-72121
can: bcm: add locking when updating filter and timer values
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
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update 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 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.101-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.101-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4745-1 · 2026-08-18 · text | 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | Update 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_bcmPrints 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
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.10.238 | 5.10.265 | 96994180bd7b |
| 5.15.185 | 5.15.216 | caa8704a7f3c |
| 6.1.141 | 6.1.183 | a7c369e7da82 |
| 6.6.93 | 6.6.148 | a7eb6db1cd3f |
| 6.12.31 | 6.12.101 | 834cbca3b12e |
| 6.15 | 6.18.42 | 19b1994069dd |
| 6.15 | 7.1.5 | fc9f5ee1b073 |
| 6.15 | 7.2 | 749179c2e25b |
| 5.4.294 | 0 | 0 |
| 6.14.9 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4745-1 | 2026-08-18 | bookworm 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | 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: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.