CVE-2026-68170
CriticalCVSS 9.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk42th percentile - higher than 42% of all known CVEs
Summary
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability was found in the MPTCP implementation, involving a stale skb->sk pointer to a closing subflow. The backlog cleanup was performed without proper synchronization, which could lead to a use-after-free condition.
Risk Assessment
An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause a system crash (kernel panic) or potentially escalate privileges, posing a serious threat to system integrity and availability.
Recommendation
It is recommended to immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit that removes the unprotected backlog traversal and moves cleanup into __mptcp_close_ssk()). Monitor distribution security advisories and apply the patch as soon as possible.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-98164Unknown
In the Linux kernel, KVM x86/mmu's kvm_gfn_is_write_tracked() only checks the supplied memslot, but page tracking is per-address-space and shadow pages are shared across address spaces. With SMM, a GFN can be write-tracked in one address space and appear untracked in another. The fix checks the supplied slot first, then the slot for the other address space, preventing mmu_try_to_unsync_pages() from marking an upper-level shadow page unsync and triggering a BUG in pte_list_remove().
- CVE-2026-98048Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, mark_fastcall_pattern_for_call() must ensure that a matched "spill; call; fill" instruction series is not interrupted by a jump. Otherwise the rewrite applied by bpf_remove_fastcall_spills_fills() is unsound. The fix records instructions targeted by jumps in insn_aux_data[*].jump_target and uses this flag to stop growing a pattern.
- CVE-2026-98047Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, in_rbtree_lock_required_cb() only checks the innermost verifier frame, so rbtree callback restrictions disappear in a nested static subprogram call frame. The subprogram can unlock the tree, remove and drop the node being compared, then relock, leading to freed memory being linked into the tree.
- CVE-2026-98046Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, bpf_btf_find_by_name_kind() returns a new BTF object fd through __btf_new_fd(), which reaches anon_inode_getfd() that can sleep while allocating or expanding the current task fd table. The helper prototype does not set might_sleep, so the verifier allows the helper in non-sleepable contexts such as BPF timer callbacks.
- CVE-2026-98045Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a BPF verifier vulnerability affects stack helpers that may block on filesystem reads (e.g., resolving build IDs) but were not marked as sleepable. The verifier could still allow these helpers from non-sleepable regions such as RCU or preemption-disabled sections.
- CVE-2026-98044Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier mishandled legacy packet-load instructions (BPF_LD_ABS/BPF_LD_IND) reached from callbacks, triggering a verifier bug warning and an -EFAULT on BPF_PROG_LOAD. A privileged program loader could trigger this issue.
- CVE-2026-98043Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly inferred that a pointer with an unbounded offset is non-NULL based solely on its type. As a result, a BPF program could pass verification while a NULL pointer dereference occurred at runtime.
- CVE-2026-98042Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier could resurrect a scalar id dropped by collect_linked_regs() because snapshots of compared registers were taken before linked registers were collected. This could lead to range inconsistencies and precision propagation issues.
- CVE-2026-98041High
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly predicted the outcome of pointer vs zero comparisons in JMP32 instructions, failing to distinguish BPF_JMP from BPF_JMP32 comparisons. This led to incorrect inference that a jump is always taken.
- CVE-2026-98040Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier did not mark the zero register as precise for a register-form NULL check. As a result, one path was pruned and the program could dereference a zero pointer at runtime.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close The backlog list is updated by mptcp_data_ready() under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup of backlog references to a closing subflow, however, was performed in mptcp_close_ssk(), before __mptcp_close_ssk() acquires the ssk lock, and while holding neither the ssk lock nor mptcp_data_lock(). Because that traversal ran without mptcp_data_lock(), concurrent softirq RX processing on another CPU (subflow_data_ready() -> mptcp_data_ready() -> __mptcp_add_backlog(), under mptcp_data_lock()) could add a backlog entry referencing the ssk while the cleanup loop was in progress. Such an entry could be missed by the cleanup, or the concurrent list update could corrupt the traversal, leaving skb->sk pointing at the ssk after it is freed. A later mptcp_backlog_purge() then dereferences the stale pointer, triggering a warning in inet_sock_destruct() (ssk->sk_rmem_alloc != 0) followed by a use-after-free in mptcp_backlog_purge(). Fix this by moving the backlog cleanup into __mptcp_close_ssk(), after subflow->closing is set to 1 and while the ssk lock is still held, serialized under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup runs only on the push path (MPTCP_CF_PUSH), where backlog references accumulate; on other teardown paths the caller already handles cleanup. With subflow->closing set and mptcp_data_lock() held across the purge, any concurrent mptcp_data_ready() either completes its enqueue before the purge runs and is caught, or observes closing=1 and bails out. Once mptcp_data_unlock() is reached, no new skb referencing the ssk can be enqueued, so the cleanup is exhaustive. Remove the unprotected traversal from mptcp_close_ssk() entirely.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

