CVE-2026-45918
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close() When deleting a peer in case of keepalive expiration, the peer is removed from the OpenVPN hashtable and is temporary inserted in a "release list" for further processing. This happens in: ovpn_peer_keepalive_work() unlock_ovpn(release_list) This processing includes detaching from the socket being used to talk to this peer, by restoring its original proto and socket ops/callbacks. In case of TCP it may happen that, while the peer is sitting in the release list, userspace decides to close the socket. This will result in a concurrent execution of: tcp_close(sk) __tcp_close(sk) sock_orphan(sk) sk_set_socket(sk, NULL) The last function call will set sk->sk_socket to NULL. When the releasing routine is resumed, ovpn_tcp_socket_detach() will attempt to dereference sk->sk_socket to restore its original ops member. This operation will crash due to sk->sk_socket being NULL. Fix this race condition by testing-and-accessing sk->sk_socket atomically under sk->sk_callback_lock.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.16
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.14,
6.19.4,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-45918 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/94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe26
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c56
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-45918?
CVE-2026-45918 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.18.14, 6.19.4 and 7.0. CVE-2026-45918 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-45918?
Yes — CVE-2026-45918 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.14, 6.19.4 and 7.0. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-45918 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-45918 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.