List corruption and refcount desync in Linux kernel NFC LLCP
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel is affected from version 3.6 until the fixed releases listed in the solution. The NFC LLCP handler nfc_llcp_recv_dm() processes disconnect frames for a socket without holding its lock and leaves the socket on the connecting list, so release unlinks it under the wrong lock. This corrupts the list and the socket reference counts. An unprivileged local user with LLCP sockets, using a disconnect frame from a remote peer over an established link, can leak kernel sockets without bound, causing memory exhaustion and denial of service.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfc: llcp: Fix list corruption / refcount desync in nfc_llcp_recv_dm() nfc_llcp_recv_dm() handles DM(NOBOUND)/DM(REJ) for a socket that is still linked on local->connecting_sockets: it looks the socket up with nfc_llcp_connecting_sock_get(), sets sk->sk_state = LLCP_CLOSED and returns, without taking the socket lock and without unlinking the socket from the connecting_sockets list. llcp_sock_release() selects the list to unlink from by sk_state: a socket in LLCP_CONNECTING is unlinked from connecting_sockets, otherwise from the sockets list. Because recv_dm left the socket physically on connecting_sockets but in the LLCP_CLOSED state, release() takes the else branch and calls nfc_llcp_sock_unlink(&local->sockets, sk). That runs sk_del_node_init() while holding sockets.lock, i.e. it removes the socket from the connecting_sockets hlist under the wrong lock. A concurrent connect() linking another socket onto connecting_sockets under connecting_sockets.lock then mutates the same hlist unserialized, which corrupts the list and desyncs the sk_add_node()/sk_del_node_init() sock_hold()/__sock_put() pairing. An unprivileged local process holding LLCP sockets, with the DM supplied by the remote peer over an established LLCP link, can drive this to leak kernel sockets without bound (the mis-decrement goes through the non-freeing __sock_put() path, so the object is never released), leading to memory exhaustion / DoS. This is the same class of bug that was fixed in the sibling handler nfc_llcp_recv_cc() by commit b493ea2765cc ("nfc: llcp: Fix use-after-free race in nfc_llcp_recv_cc()"); recv_dm did not receive the equivalent fix. Fix it the same way: take lock_sock(), re-check that the socket is still hashed (release() may have won the race), and for the NOBOUND/REJ case unlink it from connecting_sockets before moving it to LLCP_CLOSED. The unlink drops the connecting_sockets membership reference via sk_del_node_init(), leaving the socket unhashed, so the later nfc_llcp_sock_unlink() in llcp_sock_release() becomes a no-op and no double put occurs.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Fixed Linux kernel versions are 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 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
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98581
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-h227-88m5-f744
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd2d24add86b3b63cd87cf2feff98ae119ba19a6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/812731dd8511f5768f4ff279b3c18d85cd21da4b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dba1d9c7134afcb4b1bfad8c1b1b3f0ab5189b08
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1e9ed52a6697354366dddf190fbacee8ed2f7c5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7fb2c0eeb79bfad64065f539a453138abd0edda6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b94cf09720543cc34256c7aa88f8059cbe7c0419
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/320a2ff49bdce3f9a437b9a9ff341ff27d3bdbf1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf1460acdf8cf5a07c819f59785d40f20d113099
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98581 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98581 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h227-88m5-f744 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98581 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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