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CVE-2026-74609
tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down()
Published 2026-08-22 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/tipc. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74609 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 | fixedDSA-6466-1 · 2026-08-25 · text | 6.12.105-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6466-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-25, in 6.12.105-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4788-1 · 2026-09-19 · text | 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4788-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-19, in 6.12.107-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
tipc_node_link_down() caches the link pointer before taking n->lock: struct tipc_link *l = le->link; /* unlocked */ if (!l) return; tipc_node_write_lock(n); if (!tipc_link_is_establishing(l)) { /* deref l */ ... tipc_link_reset(l); /* write into l */ if (delete) { kfree(l); le->link = NULL; The delete=true caller frees that very object under n->lock, so the lock does not protect the cached pointer against it: - CPU A, delete=false: tipc_rcv() on TIPC_LINK_DOWN_EVT, or the link supervision timer via tipc_node_timeout(), reads l unlocked and then dereferences it under n->lock; - CPU B, delete=true: netlink TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE -> bearer_disable() -> tipc_node_delete_links() -> tipc_node_link_down(n, bearer_id, true) -> kfree(l). The link is freed with plain kfree(), not kfree_rcu(), and for UDP bearers disable_media() only schedules the asynchronous cleanup_bearer() work, so its synchronize_net() runs after the links are already gone. An in-flight CPU A that has read l therefore dereferences freed memory once B frees it: a use-after-free read in tipc_link_is_establishing(), and a use-after-free write via tipc_link_reset() on the establishing branch. The following trace was captured on 7.2.0-rc5-00284-gaf39eb111ce6: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) Read of size 4 at addr ffff88802e2aa068 by task swapper/2/0 tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1076) tipc_node_timeout (net/tipc/node.c:843) Allocated by task 9549: tipc_link_create (net/tipc/link.c:490) tipc_node_check_dest (net/tipc/node.c:1279) tipc_disc_rcv (net/tipc/discover.c:252) tipc_udp_recv (net/tipc/udp_media.c:389) Freed by task 9549: tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1084) tipc_node_delete_links (net/tipc/node.c:1320) bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:414) __tipc_nl_bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:992) Move the le->link read inside tipc_node_write_lock(), so it is serialised against the kfree() in the delete path. A racing teardown now either has not run yet, and we see a valid link, or has already run, and we see NULL.
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/tipc/node.c
- What this is
- TIPC NETWORK LAYERMAINTAINERS section matched on net/tipc/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- tipc
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_TIPC /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 tipcPrints 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 switch
- CONFIG_TIPC
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
- 2026-08-22 (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/tipc
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.4 | 5.10.265 | 2be741ad565c |
| 4.4 | 5.15.216 | 69d209461c11 |
| 4.4 | 6.1.183 | de017c22135f |
| 4.4 | 6.6.152 | 47ba70891b10 |
| 4.4 | 6.12.104 | a714d62513be |
| 4.4 | 6.18.45 | c3f2347a4775 |
| 4.4 | 7.1.9 | 5558a8312452 |
| 4.4 | 7.2 | cba9ccb47e9f |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4788-1 | 2026-09-19 | bookworm 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DSA-6466-1 | 2026-08-25 | trixie 6.12.105-1 | 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 race requires the delete=true path (kfree) via TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE/bearer_disable() or netns teardown, reachable only through local RTNL/genlink with CAP_NET_ADMIN; remote tipc_rcv() packets alone cannot free links and complete the race.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker with CAP_NET_ADMIN controls both CPUs by scripting bearer disable/netns teardown while concurrently driving link-down events via TIPC traffic or link supervision timers; KASAN reproduced this reliably without uncontrollable victim timing.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Bearer disable and link deletion require CAP_NET_ADMIN (GENL_UNS_ADMIN_PERM on TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE); tipc_genl_family is netns-aware, so unprivileged users obtain effective net-admin via user/network namespaces (unshare -Urn).
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is required; the attacker scripts bearer teardown and concurrent TIPC link activity from their own processes without needing another user to mount, open files, or perform administrative actions.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Slab UAF corrupts host kernel heap memory within the same kernel security authority; impact is kernel crash or local privilege escalation, not a VM, IOMMU, or cross-container sandbox boundary escape.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Slab use-after-free read in tipc_link_is_establishing() dereferences freed tipc_link objects (KASAN-confirmed), enabling disclosure of freed kernel memory and supporting further heap exploitation primitives.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- On the establishing branch tipc_link_reset() performs multiple writes into the freed tipc_link structure, corrupting kernel heap metadata and adjacent objects in ways exploitable for arbitrary write and control-flow hijacking.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- KASAN-confirmed slab-use-after-free in tipc_node_link_down() causes kernel oops/panic (observed on swapper during tipc_node_timeout), and the race can be retriggered during bearer teardown loops for reliable denial of service.