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CVE-2026-72125
can: isotp: fix use-after-free race with concurrent NETDEV_UNREGISTER
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-2026-72125 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
isotp_release() looked up the bound network device via dev_get_by_index() using the stored ifindex. During device unregistration the device is unlisted from the ifindex hash before the NETDEV_UNREGISTER notifier chain runs, so a concurrent isotp_release() could find no device, skip can_rx_unregister() entirely, and still proceed to free the socket. Since isotp_release() had already removed itself from the isotp notifier list at that point, isotp_notify() would never get a chance to clean up either, leaving a stale CAN filter that keeps pointing at the freed socket. Fix this the same way raw.c already does: hold a tracked reference to the bound net_device in the socket (so->dev/so->dev_tracker) from bind() onward instead of re-resolving it from the ifindex, and serialize bind()/release() with rtnl_lock() so that so->dev is always consistent with what the NETDEV_UNREGISTER notifier sees. so->dev stays valid regardless of ifindex-hash unlisting, and is only ever cleared by whichever of isotp_release()/isotp_notify() gets there first, so the filter is always removed exactly once. isotp_bind() now rejects a (re)bind with -EAGAIN while so->[tx|rx].state isn't ISOTP_IDLE yet, so a timer left running by a prior NETDEV_UNREGISTER can't act on a newly bound so->ifindex. Both checks share the same lock_sock() section, so there is no window in which a concurrent isotp_notify() clearing so->bound could be missed.
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/isotp.c
- What this is
- CAN NETWORK LAYERMAINTAINERS section matched on net/can/ · linux-can@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- can_isotp
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_CAN|CONFIG_CAN_ISOTP' /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_isotpPrints 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_ISOTP
- 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
- 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
- 0.16%, higher than 5.2% 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 | 5.10.265 | f311bbb29bb0 |
| 5.10 | 5.15.216 | 8e018f433559 |
| 5.10 | 6.1.183 | 33b9cd9245e2 |
| 5.10 | 6.6.148 | 0b811c4bbe3e |
| 5.10 | 6.12.101 | 43884dc7963b |
| 5.10 | 6.18.40 | 7bef39ba76eb |
| 5.10 | 7.1.5 | e442b62ba5a7 |
| 5.10 | 7.2 | 20bab8b88baa |
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:LAttack vector, local
- Exploitation requires local AF_CAN ISO-TP socket operations (socket/bind/close) racing NETDEV_UNREGISTER on the bound CAN interface; stale-filter UAF is triggered via local frame injection or an existing bound interface, not a remote IP/network service.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker controls both sides of the race by concurrently closing the ISO-TP socket and unregistering the bound CAN device (e.g., vcan create/delete with CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user namespace), and can retry until the stale RX filter is left on a freed socket.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- No init-namespace root is required: any local user can open CAN_ISOTP sockets, and CAP_NET_ADMIN obtainable in user namespaces suffices to create/delete vcan and drive the unregister path used in automotive/embedded ISO-TP (UDS) deployments.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is needed; the use-after-free is triggered by the attacker's own concurrent close()/NETDEV_UNREGISTER operations and subsequent CAN frames sent to the bound IDs.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is kernel heap corruption and potential privilege escalation within the same OS security boundary; it does not inherently cross VM, container, or IOMMU isolation boundaries.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- A stale can_rx filter keeps calling isotp_rcv()/isotp_rcv_echo() with a freed isotp_sock, enabling reads of reallocated slab contents through socket state, sock_queue_rcv_skb(), and protocol parsing on attacker-influenced memory.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The UAF path performs extensive writes to freed socket state (RX/TX buffers, timers, generation counters) and can emit CAN traffic, providing primitives for heap shaping and control-flow hijack rather than a crash-only fault.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Use-after-free in softirq CAN receive callbacks commonly causes kernel oops/panic from dereferencing or writing freed isotp_sock/timer state, even before reliable exploitation.