CVE-2026-23171

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bonding: fix use-after-free due to enslave fail after slave array update Fix a use-after-free which happens due to enslave failure after the new slave has been added to the array. Since the new slave can be used for Tx immediately, we can use it after it has been freed by the enslave error cleanup path which frees the allocated slave memory. Slave update array is supposed to be called last when further enslave failures are not expected. Move it after xdp setup to avoid any problems. It is very easy to reproduce the problem with a simple xdp_pass prog: ip l add bond1 type bond mode balance-xor ip l set bond1 up ip l set dev bond1 xdp object xdp_pass.o sec xdp_pass ip l add dumdum type dummy Then run in parallel: while :; do ip l set dumdum master bond1 1>/dev/null 2>&1; done; mausezahn bond1 -a own -b rand -A rand -B 1.1.1.1 -c 0 -t tcp "dp=1-1023, flags=syn" The crash happens almost immediately: [ 605.602850] Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xe0e6fc2460000137: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI [ 605.602916] KASAN: maybe wild-memory-access in range [0x07380123000009b8-0x07380123000009bf] [ 605.602946] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 2445 Comm: mausezahn Kdump: loaded Tainted: G B 6.19.0-rc6+ #21 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ 605.602979] Tainted: [B]=BAD_PAGE [ 605.602998] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 605.603032] RIP: 0010:netdev_core_pick_tx+0xcd/0x210 [ 605.603063] Code: 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 80 3c 02 00 0f 85 3e 01 00 00 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 4c 8b 6b 08 49 8d 7d 30 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 25 01 00 00 49 8b 45 30 4c 89 e2 48 89 ee 48 89 [ 605.603111] RSP: 0018:ffff88817b9af348 EFLAGS: 00010213 [ 605.603145] RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: ffff88817d28b420 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 605.603172] RDX: 00e7002460000137 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: 07380123000009be [ 605.603199] RBP: ffff88817b541a00 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: fffffbfff3ed8c0c [ 605.603226] R10: ffffffff9f6c6067 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000000 [ 605.603253] R13: 073801230000098e R14: ffff88817d28b448 R15: ffff88817b541a84 [ 605.603286] FS: 00007f6570ef67c0(0000) GS:ffff888221dfa000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 605.603319] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 605.603343] CR2: 00007f65712fae40 CR3: 000000011371b000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0 [ 605.603373] Call Trace: [ 605.603392] <TASK> [ 605.603410] __dev_queue_xmit+0x448/0x32a0 [ 605.603434] ? __pfx_vprintk_emit+0x10/0x10 [ 605.603461] ? __pfx_vprintk_emit+0x10/0x10 [ 605.603484] ? __pfx___dev_queue_xmit+0x10/0x10 [ 605.603507] ? bond_start_xmit+0xbfb/0xc20 [bonding] [ 605.603546] ? _printk+0xcb/0x100 [ 605.603566] ? __pfx__printk+0x10/0x10 [ 605.603589] ? bond_start_xmit+0xbfb/0xc20 [bonding] [ 605.603627] ? add_taint+0x5e/0x70 [ 605.603648] ? add_taint+0x2a/0x70 [ 605.603670] ? end_report.cold+0x51/0x75 [ 605.603693] ? bond_start_xmit+0xbfb/0xc20 [bonding] [ 605.603731] bond_start_xmit+0x623/0xc20 [bonding]

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-02-14
Last modified 2026-05-17
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-416

CVE-2026-23171 is a Use After Free vulnerability

What is Use After Free?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.9, 6.19 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.15
Fixed in
✓ 6.6.140 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.90 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.9 6.18.x ✓ 6.19

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-23171 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

4 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-23171?

    CVE-2026-23171 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as an Use After Free flaw (CWE-416) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and has been patched in 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.9 and others. CVE-2026-23171 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23171?

    CVE-2026-23171 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23171?

    Yes — CVE-2026-23171 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.9 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-23171 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2026-23171 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Use After Free (CWE-416)?

    The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. View CWE-416 on MITRE CWE →

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