6lowpan: fix NHC entry use-after-free on error path
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 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: 6lowpan: fix NHC entry use-after-free on error path lowpan_nhc_do_uncompression() looks up an NHC descriptor while holding lowpan_nhc_lock. If the descriptor has no uncompress callback, the error path drops the lock before printing nhc->name. lowpan_nhc_del() removes descriptors under the same lock and then relies on synchronize_net() before the owning module can be unloaded. That only waits for net RX RCU readers. lowpan_header_decompress() is also exported and can be reached from callers that are not necessarily covered by the net core RX critical section, for example the Bluetooth 6LoWPAN L2CAP receive path. This leaves a race where one task drops lowpan_nhc_lock in the error path, another task unregisters and frees the matching descriptor after synchronize_net() returns, and the first task then dereferences nhc->name for the warning. With the post-unlock window widened, KASAN reports: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in lowpan_nhc_do_uncompression+0x1f4/0x220 Read of size 8 lowpan_nhc_do_uncompression lowpan_header_decompress Fix this by printing the warning before dropping lowpan_nhc_lock, so the descriptor name is read while unregister is still excluded. The malformed packet is still rejected with -ENOTSUPP.
Why it matters now
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 | 4.1 and later | 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 7.1.4, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.1 and later Fixed in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 7.1.4, 7.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.1 to before 5.10.261; 5.11 to before 5.15.212; 5.16 to before 6.1.178; 6.2 to before 6.6.145; 6.7 to before 6.12.96; 6.13 to before 6.18.39; 6.19 to before 7.1.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.1 to before 5.10.261; 5.11 to before 5.15.212; 5.16 to before 6.1.178; 6.2 to before 6.6.145; 6.7 to before 6.12.96; 6.13 to before 6.18.39; 6.19 to before 7.1.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 7.1.4, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-64452
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-c2hf-fh99-25vq
- 2026-10-13 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-20 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-27 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c2f5c0829a8c8b904dae36be6d8056b719ac605
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80b5c8779acee0550845394fb3e5176a398aa24c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc27aea4d454abfb385ee2c9499c78b96db9b728
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8e3a94711134e898c6021a6b77374efa91b3639
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/593b78bb3c7ef0c6e9ae6fdf5afa80a5f7573168
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0beccbcf50de125be5520d0ffc59af4bb8655482
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b713aa0cc344f10f7a9928a230b5f5e780d04078
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1720db928e5a58ca7d75ac1d514c3b73fd7061a7
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- 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-64452 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-64452 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-c2hf-fh99-25vq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-64452 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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