Overview
About vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: nexthop: fix percpu use-after-free in remove_nh_grp_entry When removing a nexthop from a group, remove_nh_grp_entry() publishes the new group via rcu_assign_pointer() then immediately frees the removed entry’s percpu stats with free_percpu(). However, the synchronize_net() grace period in the caller remove_nexthop_from_groups() runs after the free. RCU readers that entered before the publish still see the old group and can dereference the freed stats via nh_grp_entry_stats_inc() -> get_cpu_ptr(nhge->stats), causing a use-after-free on percpu memory. Fix by deferring the free_percpu() until after synchronize_net() in the caller. Removed entries are chained via nh_list onto a local deferred free list. After the grace period completes and all RCU readers have finished, the percpu stats are safely freed. A flaw was found in the Linux kernel’s networking (net: nexthop) component. When a nexthop is removed from a group, the system prematurely frees per-CPU (percpu) statistics memory. This timing issue allows other parts of the kernel that are still referencing the old group to access and potentially corrupt the freed memory. This use-after-free vulnerability can lead to system instability or a denial of service.Details
KernelCare state
Live-patch status from KernelCare for each operating system.
| Operating system | Status | Covered kernels |
|---|---|---|
| Debian 13 | Planned | — |