Bug 2492851 (CVE-2026-53264) - CVE-2026-53264 kernel: net/sched: act_api: use RCU with deferred freeing for action lifecycle
Summary: CVE-2026-53264 kernel: net/sched: act_api: use RCU with deferred freeing for ...
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-53264
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: 2026-06-25 10:09 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-08-17 10:39 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-2026:53990 0 None None None 2026-08-12 00:58:01 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:54343 0 None None None 2026-08-12 13:08:06 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:54443 0 None None None 2026-08-13 00:45:05 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:54482 0 None None None 2026-08-13 08:06:08 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:54515 0 None None None 2026-08-17 10:39:23 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:55443 0 None None None 2026-08-17 02:09:50 UTC
Red Hat Product Errata RHSA-2026:55445 0 None None None 2026-08-17 04:37:04 UTC

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-06-25 10:09:02 UTC
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.

Comment 1 Mauro Matteo Cascella 2026-06-25 16:25:11 UTC
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026062517-CVE-2026-53264-081f@gregkh/T

Comment 4 Akiyoshi Kurita 2026-07-28 09:58:15 UTC
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

Comment 7 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-12 00:58:00 UTC
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

Comment 8 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-12 13:08:05 UTC
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

Comment 9 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-13 00:45:04 UTC
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

Comment 10 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-13 08:06:07 UTC
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

Comment 11 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-17 02:09:49 UTC
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

Comment 12 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-17 04:37:04 UTC
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

Comment 13 errata-xmlrpc 2026-08-17 10:39:22 UTC
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


Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.