Bug 2492779 (CVE-2026-53239)

Summary: CVE-2026-53239 kernel: xfrm: policy: fix use-after-free on inexact bin in xfrm_policy_bysel_ctx()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A race condition exists in the `xfrm` policy handling, specifically within the `xfrm_policy_bysel_ctx()` function. This flaw allows for a use-after-free vulnerability, where memory is accessed after it has been released. This can lead to system instability or a denial of service (DoS), making the system unresponsive or causing it to crash.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-06-25 10:05:18 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xfrm: policy: fix use-after-free on inexact bin in xfrm_policy_bysel_ctx()

Fix the race by pruning the bin while still holding xfrm_policy_lock,
before dropping it. Use __xfrm_policy_inexact_prune_bin() directly since
the lock is already held. The wrapper xfrm_policy_inexact_prune_bin()
becomes unused and is removed.

Race:

  CPU0 (XFRM_MSG_DELPOLICY)           CPU1 (XFRM_MSG_NEWSPDINFO)
  ==========================          ==========================
  xfrm_policy_bysel_ctx():
    spin_lock_bh(xfrm_policy_lock)
    bin = xfrm_policy_inexact_lookup()
    __xfrm_policy_unlink(pol)
    spin_unlock_bh(xfrm_policy_lock)
    xfrm_policy_kill(ret)
    // wide window, lock not held
                                       xfrm_hash_rebuild():
                                         spin_lock_bh(xfrm_policy_lock)
                                         __xfrm_policy_inexact_flush():
                                           kfree_rcu(bin)  // bin freed
                                         spin_unlock_bh(xfrm_policy_lock)
    xfrm_policy_inexact_prune_bin(bin)
    // UAF: bin is freed