CVE-2026-64541
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix UAF in smc_cdc_rx_handler() by pinning the socket smc_cdc_rx_handler() looks up the connection by token under the link group's conns_lock, drops the lock, and then dereferences conn and the smc_sock derived from it, ending in sock_hold(&smc->sk) inside smc_cdc_msg_recv(). No reference is held across the lock release. The only reference pinning the socket while the connection is discoverable in the link group is taken in smc_lgr_register_conn() (sock_hold) and dropped in __smc_lgr_unregister_conn() (sock_put), both under conns_lock. Once the handler drops conns_lock, a concurrent close() -> smc_release() -> smc_conn_free() -> smc_lgr_unregister_conn() can drop that reference and free the smc_sock, so the handler's later sock_hold() runs on freed memory: WARNING: lib/refcount.c:25 at refcount_warn_saturate Workqueue: rxe_wq do_work refcount_warn_saturate (lib/refcount.c:25) smc_cdc_msg_recv (net/smc/smc_cdc.c:430) smc_cdc_rx_handler (net/smc/smc_cdc.c:502) smc_wr_rx_tasklet_fn (net/smc/smc_wr.c:445) tasklet_action_common (kernel/softirq.c:938) handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:622) Kernel panic - not syncing: panic_on_warn set Only SMC-R is affected. The SMC-D receive tasklet is stopped by tasklet_kill(&conn->rx_tsklet) in smc_conn_free() before the connection is unregistered, so it cannot run concurrently with the free. Take the socket reference while still holding conns_lock, so the registration reference can no longer be the last one, and drop it once the handler is done.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.18
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.261,
5.15.212,
6.1.178,
6.6.145,
6.12.97,
6.18.40,
7.1.5,
7.2-rc3
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-64541?
CVE-2026-64541 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.18 onward and has been patched in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178 and others. CVE-2026-64541 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-2026-64541?
Yes. CVE-2026-64541 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-64541 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-64541 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.