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TI-2026-45609 Aliases CVE-2026-64044GHSA-52jg-m8r4-36g9

ovpn: respect peer refcount in CMD_NEW_PEER error path

Priority LOW 33Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: respect peer refcount in CMD_NEW_PEER error path ovpn_nl_peer_new_doit()'s error path calls ovpn_peer_release() directly rather than ovpn_peer_put(), bypassing the kref. The accompanying comment ("peer was not yet hashed, thus it is not used in any context") holds for UDP but not for TCP. For UDP, the ovpn_socket union uses the .ovpn arm and never points back at a peer; UDP encap_recv looks up peers via the not-yet-populated hashtables, so the new peer is unreachable until ovpn_peer_add() publishes it. For TCP, ovpn_socket_new() sets ovpn_sock->peer and ovpn_tcp_socket_attach() publishes ovpn_sock via rcu_assign_sk_user_data(). From that moment until ovpn_socket_release() detaches in the error path, the TCP fd is fully wired: userspace recvmsg / sendmsg / close / poll on the fd, as well as the strparser-driven ovpn_tcp_rcv() path, can reach the peer through sk_user_data -> ovpn_sock->peer and bump its refcount via ovpn_peer_hold(). ovpn_tcp_socket_wait_finish() (called inside ovpn_socket_release()) drains strparser and the tx work, but does not synchronize with userspace syscall callers that already hold a peer reference. If ovpn_nl_peer_modify() or ovpn_peer_add() returns an error while such a caller is in flight - notably an ovpn_tcp_recvmsg() blocked in __skb_recv_datagram() on peer->tcp.user_queue - the direct ovpn_peer_release() destroys the peer while the caller still holds the reference, and the eventual ovpn_peer_put() from that caller operates on freed memory. Replace the direct destructor call with ovpn_peer_put() so the kref correctly defers destruction until the last reference is dropped. In the common case where no concurrent user is present, behaviour is unchanged: the kref hits zero immediately and ovpn_peer_release_kref() runs the same destructor. With this conversion ovpn_peer_release() has no callers outside peer.c - ovpn_peer_release_kref() in the same translation unit is the only remaining user - so make it static and drop its declaration from peer.h.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00184 8th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed Linux (Linux): 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux6.16 and later6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.16 and later Fixed in 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 5

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*6.16 to before 6.18.34; 6.19 to before 7.0.11VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*7.1 rc1VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*7.1 rc2VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*7.1 rc3VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*7.1 rc4VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 to before 6.18.34; 6.19 to before 7.0.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.34, 7.0.11, 7.1

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

Not affected: 5 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-64044
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-52jg-m8r4-36g9
  3. 2026-10-13 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources