Bug 2492437 (CVE-2026-52993) - CVE-2026-52993 kernel: tipc: fix double-free in tipc_buf_append()
Summary: CVE-2026-52993 kernel: tipc: fix double-free in tipc_buf_append()
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-52993
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
high
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Product Security
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-06-24 18:12 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-10-05 00:36 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed:
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)


Links
System ID Private Priority Status Summary Last Updated
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:45115 0 None None None 2026-07-24 09:59:06 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:45116 0 None None None 2026-07-24 09:59:09 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:47017 0 None None None 2026-07-28 06:29:39 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:49212 0 None None None 2026-07-31 20:44:39 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:69837 0 None None None 2026-09-22 03:33:42 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:69874 0 None None None 2026-09-22 07:16:38 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:69906 0 None None None 2026-09-22 08:28:19 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:70482 0 None None None 2026-09-23 01:39:26 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:70483 0 None None None 2026-09-23 00:24:57 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:73645 0 None None None 2026-09-30 00:46:11 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:74174 0 None None None 2026-10-01 09:01:40 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:75560 0 None None None 2026-10-05 00:36:08 UTC

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-06-24 18:12:03 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tipc: fix double-free in tipc_buf_append()

tipc_msg_validate() can potentially reallocate the skb it is validating,
freeing the old one.  In tipc_buf_append(), it was being called with a
pointer to a local variable which was a copy of the caller's skb
pointer.

If the skb was reallocated and validation subsequently failed, the error
handling path would free the original skb pointer, which had already
been freed, leading to double-free.

Fix this by checking if head now points to a newly allocated reassembled
skb.  If it does, reassign *headbuf for later freeing operations.

Comment 3 errata-xmlrpc 2026-07-24 09:59:05 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Via RHSA-2026:45115 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:45115

Comment 4 errata-xmlrpc 2026-07-24 09:59:08 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

Via RHSA-2026:45116 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:45116

Comment 5 errata-xmlrpc 2026-07-28 06:29:38 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Via RHSA-2026:47017 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:47017

Comment 6 errata-xmlrpc 2026-07-31 20:44:38 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Via RHSA-2026:49212 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:49212

Comment 7 Jon Orris 2026-09-22 03:33:41 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Update Services for SAP Solutions
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Telecommunications Update Service

Via RHSA-2026:69837 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:69837

Comment 8 Jon Orris 2026-09-22 07:16:38 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On

Via RHSA-2026:69874 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:69874

Comment 9 Jon Orris 2026-09-22 08:28:18 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support Long-Life Add-On

Via RHSA-2026:69906 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:69906

Comment 10 Jon Orris 2026-09-23 00:24:56 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions

Via RHSA-2026:70483 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:70483

Comment 11 Jon Orris 2026-09-23 01:39:25 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions

Via RHSA-2026:70482 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:70482

Comment 12 Jon Orris 2026-09-30 00:46:10 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions

Via RHSA-2026:73645 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:73645

Comment 13 Jon Orris 2026-10-01 09:01:38 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support

Via RHSA-2026:74174 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:74174

Comment 14 Akiyoshi Kurita 2026-10-01 12:33:11 UTC
Additional information: a public LPE PoC for CVE-2026-52993 has now been released.

PoC:
https://github.com/captainai-labs/captainai-lpe-cve-2026-52993

The published exploit demonstrates that the TIPC double-free in tipc_buf_append() can be turned into a local privilege escalation from an unprivileged user (uid 1000) to root.

The repository provides evidence of:

- successful uid 1000 -> uid 0 privilege escalation
- repeated successful local LPE runs on Linux 6.6.140
- a fixed-kernel control using Linux 6.6.141 where escalation fails
- unauthenticated remote triggering of the underlying memory corruption via a configured TIPC UDP bearer

The currently published LPE chain uses laboratory-specific conditions, including SMAP being disabled, so this does not necessarily mean that the exploit is directly portable to a default RHEL configuration.

The fixes for CVE-2026-52993 have already been released, so no additional fix is being requested.

For systems where TIPC is not required, an additional mitigation is to prevent the TIPC kernel module from loading:

echo "install tipc /bin/true" > /etc/modprobe.d/disable-tipc.conf

Since practical uid 1000 -> root exploitation has now been publicly demonstrated, could Red Hat Product Security please review whether the current vulnerability description and CVSS assessment still accurately reflect the exploitability of this issue, particularly the current AC:H rating?

Current Red Hat assessment:
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

This report is intended as additional exploitability information for the existing CVE rather than a request for a new fix.

Comment 15 Jon Orris 2026-10-05 00:36:07 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support

Via RHSA-2026:75560 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:75560


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