Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98229
Published: October 7, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU153787
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 0 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98229
CWE-ID: CWE-416
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause the kernel to dereference freed memory.
The vulnerability exists due to use-after-free in xfrm_input() when receive-side processing resets the packet's security path before the function finishes accessing the associated XFRM state. A remote attacker can send packets processed during concurrent deletion of the associated state to cause the kernel to dereference freed memory.
The race requires secpath_reset() to release the last state reference. Relevant paths include VTI receive processing, cross-network-namespace packets on XFRM interfaces, and the XFRM_MAX_DEPTH error path.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-98229
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.113-1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.113-1