CVE-2026-72493

NameCVE-2026-72493
DescriptionIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: serialize netif_running() check in enqueue_to_backlog() Syzbot reported a KASAN slab-use-after-free in fib_rules_lookup(). The root cause is a race condition where packets can escape the backlog flushing during device unregistration (e.g., during netns exit). Commit e9e4dd3267d0 ("net: do not process device backlog during unregistration") introduced a lockless netif_running() check in enqueue_to_backlog() to prevent queuing packets to an unregistering device. However, this creates a TOCTOU race window. A lockless transmitter (like veth_xmit) can pass the check before dev_close() clears IFF_UP. If the transmitter is then delayed, flush_all_backlogs() can run and finish before the transmitter grabs the backlog lock and queues the packet. The packet then escapes the flush and triggers UAF later when processed. Fix this by moving the netif_running() check inside the backlog lock. This serializes the check with the flush work (which also grabs the lock). We then either queue the packet before the flush runs (so it gets flushed), or check netif_running() after the flush/close completes (so it gets dropped).
SourceCVE (at NVD; CERT, ENISA, LWN, oss-sec, fulldisc, Debian ELTS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Gentoo, SUSE bugzilla/CVE, GitHub advisories/code/issues, web search, more)

Vulnerable and fixed packages

The table below lists information on source packages.

Source PackageReleaseVersionStatus
linux (PTS)bookworm6.1.176-1vulnerable
bookworm (security)6.1.180-1vulnerable
trixie6.12.94-1vulnerable
trixie (security)6.12.107-1vulnerable
forky7.1.12-1fixed
sid7.1.13-1fixed

The information below is based on the following data on fixed versions.

PackageTypeReleaseFixed VersionUrgencyOriginDebian Bugs
linuxsource(unstable)7.1.5-1

Notes

https://git.kernel.org/linus/46762cefe7f4e5bffc1eb467810a7bbb02e461d7 (7.2-rc1)

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