CVE-2026-72125
HighCVSS 7.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk6th percentile - higher than 6% of all known CVEs
Summary
A use-after-free vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's CAN ISO-TP module (can/isotp). The issue occurs during concurrent network device unregistration (NETDEV_UNREGISTER) and socket release (isotp_release), potentially leading to use of freed memory.
Risk Assessment
An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to escalate privileges or cause a system crash (kernel panic). Systems with CAN and ISO-TP enabled are at risk, especially in industrial and automotive environments.
Recommendation
Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit resolving the issue). If updating is not possible, restrict access to CAN interfaces and disable the isotp module if not required.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: can: isotp: fix use-after-free race with concurrent NETDEV_UNREGISTER isotp_release() looked up the bound network device via dev_get_by_index() using the stored ifindex. During device unregistration the device is unlisted from the ifindex hash before the NETDEV_UNREGISTER notifier chain runs, so a concurrent isotp_release() could find no device, skip can_rx_unregister() entirely, and still proceed to free the socket. Since isotp_release() had already removed itself from the isotp notifier list at that point, isotp_notify() would never get a chance to clean up either, leaving a stale CAN filter that keeps pointing at the freed socket. Fix this the same way raw.c already does: hold a tracked reference to the bound net_device in the socket (so->dev/so->dev_tracker) from bind() onward instead of re-resolving it from the ifindex, and serialize bind()/release() with rtnl_lock() so that so->dev is always consistent with what the NETDEV_UNREGISTER notifier sees. so->dev stays valid regardless of ifindex-hash unlisting, and is only ever cleared by whichever of isotp_release()/isotp_notify() gets there first, so the filter is always removed exactly once. isotp_bind() now rejects a (re)bind with -EAGAIN while so->[tx|rx].state isn't ISOTP_IDLE yet, so a timer left running by a prior NETDEV_UNREGISTER can't act on a newly bound so->ifindex. Both checks share the same lock_sock() section, so there is no window in which a concurrent isotp_notify() clearing so->bound could be missed.

