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CVE-2026-74496
fou: Fix use-after-free in fou_create()
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/ipv4. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74496 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-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
fou_create() publishes struct fou through sk_user_data before adding the new FOU port to the per-netns list. If fou_add_to_port_list() fails, the error path frees fou while it is still reachable through sk_user_data. A concurrent receive can then dereference the freed object in fou_from_sock(). This ordering issue was previously noted in the linked discussion. The failure is reachable when local port 0 is requested. Each socket binds to a different ephemeral port, but fou_cfg_cmp() compares the requested port 0 and reports -EALREADY once an entry already exists. Release the tunnel socket before freeing fou so sk_user_data is cleared first, and defer reclamation with kfree_rcu() to protect concurrent RCU readers. This matches the lifetime handling in fou_release().
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/ipv4/fou_core.c
- What this is
- NETWORKING [GENERAL]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- fou
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_INET|CONFIG_NET_FOU' /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 fouPrints 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 as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_INET, CONFIG_NET_FOU
- 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
- 0.13%, higher than 2.0% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/ipv4
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 3.18 | 5.10.271 | 0ee628a58d83 |
| 3.18 | 5.15.222 | a6fca682cfa2 |
| 3.18 | 6.1.189 | b3f9c3e60aa2 |
| 3.18 | 6.6.158 | 99f4d3120b24 |
| 3.18 | 6.12.111 | 58835985c035 |
| 3.18 | 6.18.53 | 9042867d4701 |
| 3.18 | 7.1.8 | a28d8903bfe7 |
| 3.18 | 7.2 | b14361aca635 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | 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 is opened only via local FOU_CMD_ADD genetlink into fou_create(); remote UDP can race the dangling sk_user_data read in fou_udp_recv/gue_udp_recv but cannot alone reach the erroneous teardown path.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker with CAP_NET_ADMIN controls both sides: issue a second FOU_CMD_ADD with port 0 to force -EALREADY on fou_add_to_port_list while concurrently sending UDP/GRO traffic to the just-bound ephemeral socket during the kfree window.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- FOU_CMD_ADD is gated by GENL_ADMIN_PERM (CAP_NET_ADMIN); the fou genl family is netnsok, so a user with CAP_NET_ADMIN inside unshare -Urn can configure FOU and trigger the failing add path without init-namespace root.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation is fully programmatic via concurrent netlink FOU_CMD_ADD requests and attacker-controlled UDP packets; no victim mount, file open, or other interactive action is required.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is kernel heap corruption and privilege escalation within the same security authority; this is not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or other cross-boundary scope change.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Concurrent readers call fou_from_sock() and dereference freed struct fou fields (family, protocol, flags); reclaimed slab contents give attacker-controlled reads and kernel pointer disclosure primitives typical of UAF.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Freed struct fou is attacker-reclaimable kmalloc memory; fou_gro_receive indexes inet_offloads[fou->protocol] from the dangling pointer, enabling heap grooming for arbitrary writes and control-flow hijack.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Use-after-free in UDP receive/GRO softirq reliably causes KASAN violations and, on production kernels, invalid pointer dereferences or panics when accessing the freed fou object during packet processing.