{"cve":"CVE-2026-72404","nvd":{"published":"2026-08-15T06:22:13.970","modified":"2026-10-21T13:19:37.170","status":"Received","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ntipc: fix UAF in cleanup_bearer() due to premature dst_cache_destroy()\n\nTIPC UDP media bearer teardown calls dst_cache_destroy() on its\nreplicast caches before calling synchronize_net() to wait for\nconcurrent RCU readers (transmitters) to finish:\n\nstatic void cleanup_bearer(struct work_struct *work)\n{\n...\n\tlist_for_each_entry_safe(rcast, tmp, &ub->rcast.list, list) {\n\t\tdst_cache_destroy(&rcast->dst_cache);\n\t\tlist_del_rcu(&rcast->list);\n\t\tkfree_rcu(rcast, rcu);\n\t}\n...\n\tdst_cache_destroy(&ub->rcast.dst_cache);\n\tudp_tunnel_sock_release(ub->sk);\n\tsynchronize_net();\n...\n}\n\nThis is highly buggy because dst_cache_destroy() immediately frees the\nper-CPU cache memory (free_percpu()) and releases the cached dst\nentries without any synchronization.\n\nIf a concurrent transmitter (e.g., tipc_udp_xmit()) is running on another\nCPU under RCU protection, it can call dst_cache_get() concurrently,\nleading to:\n1. Use-After-Free on the per-CPU cache pointer itself (crash).\n2. \"rcuref - imbalanced put()\" warning if it attempts to release a\n   dst that was concurrently released by dst_cache_destroy().\n\nFurthermore, calling kfree(ub) immediately after synchronize_net() without\nclosing the socket first (or waiting after closing it) leaves a window\nwhere a concurrent receiver (tipc_udp_recv()) could start after\nsynchronize_net(), access ub, and suffer a UAF when kfree(ub) runs.\n\nTo fix this, we must defer dst_cache_destroy() and kfree(ub) until after\nwe have ensured that no more readers can see the bearer/socket and all\nexisting readers have finished:\n\n1. Defer rcast entry destruction (both dst_cache_destroy() and kfree())\n   to an RCU callback using call_rcu_hurry().\n   Using call_rcu_hurry() ensures the dst entries are released quickly.\n\n2. Release the bearer socket using udp_tunnel_sock_release() (stops\n   new receive readers).\n\n3. Call synchronize_net() to wait for all outstanding RCU readers\n   (both transmit and receive) to finish.\n\n4. Now that it is safe, call dst_cache_destroy() on the main bearer\n   cache, and free ub.\n\nNote: 3) and 4) can be changed later in net-next to also use\ncall_rcu_hurry() and get rid of the synchronize_net() latency.","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","score":7.8},"cwes":[],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c8393eefa3cadf4ca0b61119ad1321aa32d3c8c","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3827ff67f9fbecd1086e33d23693ef6a1a9c6c38","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6aeb4ba4fb098199e13723cfd04d9a749741f731","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b0e29f7662c237e717f35dad746efe94715d0da","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7116764ca53ff529335d7ab7c364a69f094b23a5"],"products":[],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-22T16:41:11.231219466+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2026-72404","score":0.00163,"percentile":0.05464,"date":"2026-10-25"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}