CVE-2026-64424
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netpoll: fix a use-after-free on shutdown path There is a use-after-free error on netpoll, which is clearly detected by KASAN. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x3b/0x80 Read of size 1 at addr ... by task kworker/9:1 Workqueue: events queue_process Call Trace: skb_dequeue+0x1e/0xb0 queue_process+0x2c/0x600 process_scheduled_works+0x4b6/0x850 worker_thread+0x414/0x5a0 Allocated by task 242: __netpoll_setup+0x201/0x4a0 netpoll_setup+0x249/0x550 enabled_store+0x32f/0x380 Freed by task 0: kfree+0x1b7/0x540 rcu_core+0x3f8/0x7a0 The problem happens when there is a pending TX worker running in parallel with the cleanup path. This is what happens on netpoll shutdown path: 1) __netpoll_cleanup() is called 2) set dev->npinfo to NULL 3) call_rcu() with rcu_cleanup_netpoll_info() 3.1) rcu_cleanup_netpoll_info() tries to cancel all workers with cancel_delayed_work(), but doesn't wait for the worker to finish 4) and kfree(npinfo); Because 3.1) doesn't really cancel the work, as the comment says "we can't call cancel_delayed_work_sync here, as we are in softirq", the TX worker can run after 4). Tl;DR: queue_process() is not an RCU reader, it reaches npinfo through the work item via container_of(). Use disable_delayed_work_sync() to ensure the worker is completely stopped and prevent any future re-arming attempts. Once npinfo is set to NULL, senders will bail out and not queue new work. The disable flag ensures any in-flight re-arming attempts also fail silently. In the future, we can do the cleanup inline here without needing the npinfo->rcu rcu_head, but that is net-next material.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.6
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.96,
6.18.39,
7.1.4,
7.2-rc2
and their respective stable series.
References
4 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-64424?
CVE-2026-64424 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.6 onward and has been patched in 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 7.1.4 and others. CVE-2026-64424 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-2026-64424?
Yes. CVE-2026-64424 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 7.1.4 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-64424 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-64424 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.