CVE-2026-74609
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down() tipc_node_link_down() caches the link pointer before taking n->lock: struct tipc_link *l = le->link; /* unlocked */ if (!l) return; tipc_node_write_lock(n); if (!tipc_link_is_establishing(l)) { /* deref l */ ... tipc_link_reset(l); /* write into l */ if (delete) { kfree(l); le->link = NULL; The delete=true caller frees that very object under n->lock, so the lock does not protect the cached pointer against it: - CPU A, delete=false: tipc_rcv() on TIPC_LINK_DOWN_EVT, or the link supervision timer via tipc_node_timeout(), reads l unlocked and then dereferences it under n->lock; - CPU B, delete=true: netlink TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE -> bearer_disable() -> tipc_node_delete_links() -> tipc_node_link_down(n, bearer_id, true) -> kfree(l). The link is freed with plain kfree(), not kfree_rcu(), and for UDP bearers disable_media() only schedules the asynchronous cleanup_bearer() work, so its synchronize_net() runs after the links are already gone. An in-flight CPU A that has read l therefore dereferences freed memory once B frees it: a use-after-free read in tipc_link_is_establishing(), and a use-after-free write via tipc_link_reset() on the establishing branch. The following trace was captured on 7.2.0-rc5-00284-gaf39eb111ce6: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) Read of size 4 at addr ffff88802e2aa068 by task swapper/2/0 tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1076) tipc_node_timeout (net/tipc/node.c:843) Allocated by task 9549: tipc_link_create (net/tipc/link.c:490) tipc_node_check_dest (net/tipc/node.c:1279) tipc_disc_rcv (net/tipc/discover.c:252) tipc_udp_recv (net/tipc/udp_media.c:389) Freed by task 9549: tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1084) tipc_node_delete_links (net/tipc/node.c:1320) bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:414) __tipc_nl_bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:992) Move the le->link read inside tipc_node_write_lock(), so it is serialised against the kfree() in the delete path. A racing teardown now either has not run yet, and we see a valid link, or has already run, and we see NULL.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.4
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.265,
5.15.216,
6.1.183,
6.6.152,
6.12.104,
6.18.45,
7.1.9,
7.2
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-74609?
CVE-2026-74609 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.4 onward and has been patched in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183 and others. CVE-2026-74609 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-2026-74609?
Yes. CVE-2026-74609 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.4 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-74609 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-74609 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.