xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit
Priority LOW 35CWE-416Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit xfrm_policy_fini() frees the policy_bydst hash tables after flushing the policy work items and deleting all policies, but it does not wait for concurrent RCU readers to leave their read-side critical sections first. The policy_bydst tables are published via rcu_assign_pointer() and are looked up through rcu_dereference_check(), so netns teardown must also wait for an RCU grace period before freeing the table memory. Fix this by adding synchronize_rcu() before freeing the policy hash tables.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.0013 2nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 6.1.191, 6.6.136, 6.12.83 +3Red Hat: 4 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.9 and later | 6.1.191, 6.6.136, 6.12.83, 6.18.24, 6.19.14, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9 and later Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.136, 6.12.83, 6.18.24, 6.19.14, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 8
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.9 to before 6.6.136; 6.7 to before 6.12.83; 6.13 to before 6.18.24; 6.19 to before 6.19.14 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.9 to before 6.6.136; 6.7 to before 6.12.83; 6.13 to before 6.18.24; 6.19 to before 6.19.14 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.136, 6.12.83, 6.18.24, 6.19.14, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-43091
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jrph-46wx-r2g3
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@b2faee12538b5b008eaef65a4201eb29cb5cefb3 · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-43091 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-43091 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jrph-46wx-r2g3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-43091 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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