CVE-2026-23454
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: mana: fix use-after-free in mana_hwc_destroy_channel() by reordering teardown A potential race condition exists in mana_hwc_destroy_channel() where hwc->caller_ctx is freed before the HWC's Completion Queue (CQ) and Event Queue (EQ) are destroyed. This allows an in-flight CQ interrupt handler to dereference freed memory, leading to a use-after-free or NULL pointer dereference in mana_hwc_handle_resp(). mana_smc_teardown_hwc() signals the hardware to stop but does not synchronize against IRQ handlers already executing on other CPUs. The IRQ synchronization only happens in mana_hwc_destroy_cq() via mana_gd_destroy_eq() -> mana_gd_deregister_irq(). Since this runs after kfree(hwc->caller_ctx), a concurrent mana_hwc_rx_event_handler() can dereference freed caller_ctx (and rxq->msg_buf) in mana_hwc_handle_resp(). Fix this by reordering teardown to reverse-of-creation order: destroy the TX/RX work queues and CQ/EQ before freeing hwc->caller_ctx. This ensures all in-flight interrupt handlers complete before the memory they access is freed.
CVSS 3.1 score
7.0
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-416CVE-2026-23454 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
5.13
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.15.203,
6.1.167,
6.6.130,
6.12.78,
6.18.20,
6.19.10,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-23454 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/05d345719d85b927cba74afac4d5322de3aa4256
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/249e905571583a434d4ea8d6f92ccc0eef337115
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b001901f689021acd7bf2dceed74a1bdcaaa1f9
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-23454?
CVE-2026-23454 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.0 out of 10 , classified as an Use After Free flaw (CWE-416) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.13 onward and has been patched in 5.15.203, 6.1.167, 6.6.130 and others. CVE-2026-23454 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-2026-23454?
CVE-2026-23454 has a CVSS score of 7.0 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23454?
Yes — CVE-2026-23454 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.203, 6.1.167, 6.6.130 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-23454 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-23454 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 →