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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: act_api: use RCU with deferred freeing for action lifecycle When NEWTFILTER and DELFILTER are run concurrently it is possible to create a race with an associated action. Let's illustrate with CPU0 running NEWTFILTER and CPU1 running DELFILTER: 0: mutex_lock() <-- holds the idr lock 0: rcu_read_lock() 0: p = idr_find(idr, index) <-- action p is valid (RCU protects IDR) 0: mutex_unlock() <-- releases the idr lock 1: refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock() <-- refcnt 1->0, mutex held 1: idr_remove(idr, index) <-- Action removed from IDR 1: mutex_unlock() <-- mutex released allowing us to delete the action 1: tcf_action_cleanup(p); kfree(p) <-- Kfrees p immediately, no deferral 0: refcount_inc_not_zero(&p->tcfa_refcnt) <-- ouch, UAF p points to freed memory This patch fixes the race condition between NEWTFILTER and DELFILTER by adding struct rcu_head to tc_action used in the deferral and introducing a call_rcu() in the delete path to defer the final kfree(). Note: this is a revert of commit d7fb60b9cafb ("net_sched: get rid of tcfa_rcu") but also modernization/simplification to directly use kfree_rcu(). Let's illustrate the new restored code path: 0: rcu_read_lock() 1: refcount_dec_and_mutex_lock() <-- refcnt 1->0, mutex held 1: idr_remove(idr, index) 1: mutex_unlock() 1: call_rcu(&p->tcfa_rcu, tcf_action_rcu_free) <-- defer kfree after grace period 0: p = idr_find(idr, index) 0: refcount_inc_not_zero(&p->tcfa_refcnt) <-- fails, refcnt already 0 1: rcu_read_unlock() <-- release so freeing can run after grace period After CPU1 calls idr_remove(), the object is no longer reachable through the IDR. CPU0's subsequent idr_find() will return NULL, and even if it still held a stale pointer, the immediate kfree() is now deferred until after the RCU grace period, so no UAF can occur.
Upstream advisory: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026062517-CVE-2026-53264-081f@gregkh/T
FYI, a working root exploit for CVE-2026-53264 targeting CentOS Stream 9 has been published. The researcher also reports that CentOS-Stream-9-20260706.0 remains vulnerable. Exploit: https://github.com/star-sg/CVE/tree/master/CVE-2026-53264 Technical details: https://starlabs.sg/blog/2026/07-when-ai-makes-0-days-feel-like-n-days/ Upstream patch: https://git.kernel.org/torvalds/c/5057e1aca011e51ef51498c940ef96f3d3e8a305
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update Support Via RHSA-2026:53990 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:53990
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Via RHSA-2026:54343 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54343
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Via RHSA-2026:54443 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54443
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions Via RHSA-2026:54482 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54482
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions Via RHSA-2026:55443 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55443
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support Via RHSA-2026:55445 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55445
This issue has been addressed in the following products: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions Via RHSA-2026:54515 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54515