net/sched: act_tunnel_key: Defer dst_release to RCU callback
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: 16 fixed, 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: net/sched: act_tunnel_key: Defer dst_release to RCU callback Fix a race-condition use-after-free in tunnel_key_release_params(). The function releases the metadata_dst of the old params synchronously via dst_release() while deferring the params struct free with kfree_rcu(). A concurrent tunnel_key_act() reader on the datapath may still hold the old params pointer (under rcu_read_lock_bh) and proceed to call dst_clone(¶ms->tcft_enc_metadata->dst) after the writer's dst_release has already pushed the dst's rcuref to RCUREF_DEAD. [email protected] produced a poc which i (and Victor) verified that KASAN reports: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in instrument_atomic_read_write include/linux/instrumented.h:112 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in atomic_sub_return_release include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:326 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __rcuref_put include/linux/rcuref.h:109 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rcuref_put include/linux/rcuref.h:173 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in dst_release+0x5b/0x370 net/core/dst.c:168 Write of size 4 at addr ffff88806158de40 by task poc/9388 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 9388 Comm: poc Tainted: G W 7.1.0-rc7 #7 PREEMPT(lazy) Tainted: [W]=WARN Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 25.10 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, + 10.1 machine, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 print_report+0x139/0x4ad mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xe4/0x1d0 mm/kasan/report.c:595 check_region_inline mm/kasan/generic.c:186 kasan_check_range+0x125/0x200 mm/kasan/generic.c:200 instrument_atomic_read_write include/linux/instrumented.h:112 atomic_sub_return_release include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:326 __rcuref_put include/linux/rcuref.h:109 rcuref_put include/linux/rcuref.h:173 dst_release+0x5b/0x370 net/core/dst.c:168 refdst_drop include/net/dst.h:272 skb_dst_drop include/net/dst.h:284 skb_release_head_state+0x293/0x400 net/core/skbuff.c:1163 skb_release_all net/core/skbuff.c:1187 [..] Allocated by task 9391: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:57 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:78 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:398 __kasan_kmalloc+0x9a/0xb0 mm/kasan/common.c:415 kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:263 __do_kmalloc_node mm/slub.c:5296 __kmalloc_noprof+0x2f1/0x830 mm/slub.c:5308 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:954 kzalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:1188 offload_action_alloc+0x2f/0x130 net/core/flow_offload.c:35 tcf_action_offload_add_ex+0x1ba/0x880 net/sched/act_api.c:258 tcf_action_offload_add net/sched/act_api.c:293 tcf_action_init+0x66e/0xa20 net/sched/act_api.c:1547 tcf_action_add+0xf6/0x5d0 net/sched/act_api.c:2101 [..] Freed by task 9391: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:57 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:78 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x70 mm/kasan/generic.c:584 poison_slab_object mm/kasan/common.c:253 __kasan_slab_free+0x6b/0x90 mm/kasan/common.c:285 kasan_slab_free include/linux/kasan.h:235 slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:2689 slab_free mm/slub.c:6251 kfree+0x21f/0x6b0 mm/slub.c:6566 tcf_action_offload_add_ex+0x4ad/0x880 net/sched/act_api.c:284 tcf_action_offload_add net/sched/act_api.c:293 tcf_action_init+0x66e/0xa20 net/sched/act_api.c:1547 tcf_action_add+0xf6/0x5d0 net/sched/act_api.c:2101 The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88806158de00 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-256 of size 256 The buggy address is located 64 bytes inside of freed 256-byte region [ffff88806158de00, ffff88806158df00) The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0xffff88806158d600 pfn:0x6158c head: order:1 mapcount:0 entire_map ---truncated---
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
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.20, 4.21
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.148, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6, 7.2
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2026:83207 Released 2026-10-15 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- 10Base-SMTV kernel-modules-internal-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, libperf-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Hidden (v. 10) kernel-modules-internal-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-211.66.1.el10_2 +9
- RHSA-2026:83156 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, libperf-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-687.58.1.el9_8 +9
- RHSA-2026:83157 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-553.174.1.el8_10, kernel-4.18.0-553.174.1.el8_10, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-553.174.1.el8_10 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-553.174.1.el8_10
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:83159 Released 2026-10-14 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) kernel-rt-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10, kernel-rt-core-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10, kernel-rt-debug-4.18.0-553.174.1.rt7.515.el8_10 +7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| 10Base-SMTV | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83156 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83157 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83156 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83157 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83156 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Hidden (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83159 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux RT (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83159 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83156 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83207 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:83156 |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-68377
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5xw4-524v-v442
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83159 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83156 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83157 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: RHSA-2026:83207 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: 10Base-SMTV, Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10), Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) +13 · Red Hat
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-20 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5931f020b681fdcb9378262d89b61cb3c7ebbf8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/389d03992dabb80488228e8119b9dd6d0f58e1a6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/676ad6aa7cec89a08d2a5ce3cd5959e313f29733
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/531dbb5bb98e52ad26be7e90f9f8bec707c5bd0e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2200a00ff247f70f5dcdb4e6f14b0d48ddac5467
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fed1b1ddab41a0e7a462ac690a0c8af6ff793624
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2791a501da508b704a617b4dba29db54a65bc9f7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1f5c8a3955f8fda3f84ed883ac8daa1847e724c
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Sources
- CVE-2026-68377 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-68377 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5xw4-524v-v442 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-68377 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences