data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

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CVE-2026-74727

ovpn: skip rehash for peers already removed from by_id

9.8 EPSS 0.6% AV:N

Published 2026-08-22 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74727 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 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixienot affected6.12.113-1Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.1.9-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.1.9-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

ovpn_nl_peer_set_doit() resolves the target peer via ovpn_peer_get_by_id() before taking ovpn->lock. In the window between the lookup (which only takes a refcount) and the subsequent spin_lock_bh(&ovpn->lock), a concurrent OVPN_CMD_PEER_DEL, keepalive expiry, or socket teardown can take ovpn->lock first, run ovpn_peer_remove() to unhash the peer from all four tables (by_id, by_vpn_addr4/6, by_transp_addr) and release the lock. set_doit then acquires ovpn->lock and calls ovpn_peer_hash_vpn_ip(), which re-inserts the now-removed peer back into the rehashing tables. The same race affects the float path: ovpn_peer_endpoints_update() holds only a refcount and acquires ovpn->lock very late (after async AEAD decrypt and a netlink notification), then rehashes the peer in the by_transp_addr table. The resurrected peer becomes reachable again from the RX lookup (ovpn_peer_get_by_transp_addr) and the TX VPN-IP lookup, even though userspace believes it is gone. Once the data-path refcount drops the peer is freed via call_rcu while the hash entries embedded in it remain linked, opening a UAF window. Bail out of the rehash when hash_entry_id is unhashed, mirroring the sentinel already used by ovpn_peer_remove() to detect the already-removed state. The check is safe under ovpn->lock, which serializes every mutation of hash_entry_id, and is a no-op for the add path because ovpn_peer_add_mp() inserts hash_entry_id before calling ovpn_peer_hash_vpn_ip().

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.

drivers/net/ovpn/peer.c

What this is
OPENVPN DATA CHANNEL OFFLOADMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/ovpn/ · openvpn-devel@lists.sourceforge.net · Supported
Kernel module
ovpn

Check it on the machine

grep -w CONFIG_OVPN /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 ovpn

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 as a loadable module. Every release with an answer 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. The build rule could not be established for 2 releases, so nothing is claimed about those.

  • bookworm, trixie?
  • forky, sidm
?
not established - no Makefile entry for the affected file
m
a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted

Where a release above reads "not established", no build rule for the affected file was found in that release's kernel tree. That is a gap in this lookup, not a finding that the code is absent.

Build switch
CONFIG_OVPN

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
9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
network (AV:N)source
EPSS
0.65%, higher than 50.1% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
drivers/net

Upstream fixes

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

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.166.18.45d20c18108898
6.167.1.9667454802987
6.167.233ec10567fe1

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:NAttack vector, network
The float-path UAF is reached from ovpn_udp_encap_recv()/ovpn_tcp_rcv() through ovpn_recv(), async AEAD decrypt, and ovpn_peer_endpoints_update(); a remote peer sends authenticated DATA_V2 packets over UDP/TCP to an internet-facing MP-mode OpenVPN gateway.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
The remote peer controls float timing (new transport source), packet rate, and concurrent removal via TCP disconnect, UDP socket teardown, or keepalive expiry; netlink PEER_SET vs PEER_DEL races are likewise attacker-synchronized with no luck-dependent layout.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
On an internet-facing MP-mode gateway, exploitation needs no Linux credentials on the victim—only an established kernel-installed peer with valid AEAD keys (or namespace CAP_NET_ADMIN for netlink races), matching a remote VPN client rather than host root.
UI:NUser interaction, none
The rehash race is triggered by normal peer traffic and automatic keepalive/socket teardown; no administrator or end-user action on the victim host is required beyond routine VPN server operation.
S:UScope, unchanged
The UAF corrupts ovpn peer hash tables inside the kernel VPN driver; impact remains within the host kernel security domain without crossing VM, container, or IOMMU boundaries.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
Freed ovpn_peer objects remain linked in by_transp_addr/by_vpn_addr hash tables, so RX/TX lookups dereference recycled kmalloc-1k structures and enable arbitrary kernel-memory reads via attacker-controlled heap reuse.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
Resurrected hash entries steer traffic to freed peers and subsequent RCU/kref teardown on stale objects provide typical slab-UAF write primitives (refcount, socket, crypto pointer updates) suitable for kernel code execution.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Use-after-free on hot datapath peer lookups reliably causes kernel oops/panic or slab corruption on VPN gateways, and remote peers can repeat the race to sustain denial of service.