CVE-2026-23209
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: macvlan: fix error recovery in macvlan_common_newlink() valis provided a nice repro to crash the kernel: ip link add p1 type veth peer p2 ip link set address 00:00:00:00:00:20 dev p1 ip link set up dev p1 ip link set up dev p2 ip link add mv0 link p2 type macvlan mode source ip link add invalid% link p2 type macvlan mode source macaddr add 00:00:00:00:00:20 ping -c1 -I p1 1.2.3.4 He also gave a very detailed analysis: <quote valis> The issue is triggered when a new macvlan link is created with MACVLAN_MODE_SOURCE mode and MACVLAN_MACADDR_ADD (or MACVLAN_MACADDR_SET) parameter, lower device already has a macvlan port and register_netdevice() called from macvlan_common_newlink() fails (e.g. because of the invalid link name). In this case macvlan_hash_add_source is called from macvlan_change_sources() / macvlan_common_newlink(): This adds a reference to vlan to the port's vlan_source_hash using macvlan_source_entry. vlan is a pointer to the priv data of the link that is being created. When register_netdevice() fails, the error is returned from macvlan_newlink() to rtnl_newlink_create(): if (ops->newlink) err = ops->newlink(dev, ¶ms, extack); else err = register_netdevice(dev); if (err < 0) { free_netdev(dev); goto out; } and free_netdev() is called, causing a kvfree() on the struct net_device that is still referenced in the source entry attached to the lower device's macvlan port. Now all packets sent on the macvlan port with a matching source mac address will trigger a use-after-free in macvlan_forward_source(). </quote valis> With all that, my fix is to make sure we call macvlan_flush_sources() regardless of @create value whenever "goto destroy_macvlan_port;" path is taken. Many thanks to valis for following up on this issue.
CVSS 3.1 score
7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-416CVE-2026-23209 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
4.9
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.250,
5.15.200,
6.1.163,
6.6.124,
6.12.70,
6.18.10,
6.19
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-23209 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11ba9f0dc865136174cb98834280fb21bbc950c7
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5dae6b36a7cb7a4fcf4121b95e9ca7f96f816c8a
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/986967a162142710076782d5b93daab93a892980
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-23209?
CVE-2026-23209 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 4.9 onward and has been patched in 5.10.250, 5.15.200, 6.1.163 and others. CVE-2026-23209 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23209?
CVE-2026-23209 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-2026-23209?
Yes — CVE-2026-23209 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.250, 5.15.200, 6.1.163 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.9 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-23209 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-23209 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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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 →