locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 10 fixed, 1 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: locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock() rt_spin_unlock() releases the RCU protection before unlocking the lock. That opens the door for the following UAF scenario: T1 T2 spin_lock(&p->lock); rcu_read_lock(); invalidate(p); p = rcu_dereference(ptr); rcu_assign_pointer(ptr, NULL); if (!p) return; spin_unlock(&p->lock); spin_lock(&p->lock) lock(&lock->lock); rcu_read_lock(); kfree_rcu(p); rcu_read_unlock(); .... spin_unlock(&p->lock) rcu_read_unlock(); // Ends grace period rcu_do_batch() kfree(p); UAF -> rt_mutex_cmpxchg_release(&lock->lock...) Regular spinlocks keep preemption disabled accross the unlock operation, which provides full RCU protection, but the RT substitution fails to resemble that. Same applies for the rwlock substitution. Move the rcu_read_unlock() invocation past the unlock operations to match the non-RT semantics. This makes it asymmetric vs. rt_xxx_lock(), but that's harmless as the caller needs to hold RCU read lock across the lock operation. The migrate_enable() call stays before the unlock operation because there is no per CPU operation in the unlock path which would require migration to be kept disabled.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.148, 6.12.101, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2026:63129 Released 2026-09-04 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-64k-core-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8 +28
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, libperf-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-64k-core-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-687.44.1.el9_8 +9
- RHSA-2026:61887 Released 2026-09-01 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) kernel-64k-debug-devel-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-devel-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2 +12
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-64k-core-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) kernel-tools-libs-devel-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, libperf-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-64k-core-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2 +21
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-core-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2, kernel-rt-debug-6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2 +9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61887 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:63129 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61887 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:63129 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61887 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:63129 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61887 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:63129 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:61887 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:63129 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72069
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mgq9-4f63-hxm9
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-20 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Other 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af28d801cd2db4cc7378554499bd4a5d84a5517e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d1fcd64ab81200e02b7a6db5eb1da8e244e8289
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cfaac77b3c32ac3940df28866de263c3f45d24c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f0d56d3f1e88f20f6e46109402f8c15d59bac37
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/633cadbc0b8323f5cc140a285d2432089dbb534e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83f9fb561c1c3917e19f95523dd933c7d30291aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89038cc87d80c77e7aa6f42a64b2573b74af339f
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Sources
- CVE-2026-72069 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72069 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mgq9-4f63-hxm9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-72069 · 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