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CVSS 9.8 · CRITICAL

CVE-2026-74587Use-After-Free vulnerability in Linux kernel (SCTP)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: fix use-after-free of cached ASCONF chunk addip_last_asconf caches the outstanding outbound ASCONF chunk. The normal ASCONF-ACK completion path releases the chunk and clears the pointer. However, sctp_asconf_queue_teardown() releases the cached chunk without clearing addip_last_asconf. During peer restart handling, sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a() queues SCTP_CMD_PURGE_ASCONF_QUEUE, which invokes sctp_asconf_queue_teardown() while the association remains alive and leaves the pointer dangling. A delayed authenticated ASCONF-ACK can then reach sctp_sf_do_asconf_ack(), which accesses the stale chunk and passes it to sctp_process_asconf_ack(), causing a use-after-free and a second release. Clearing the pointer exposes a race with T4 expiry. Peer restart handling queues the timer stop before the purge, but SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP uses timer_delete(), which does not wait for a callback already running on another CPU. Such a callback can reach sctp_sf_t4_timer_expire() after the purge and dereference NULL. Clear addip_last_asconf after releasing the cached chunk, and make sctp_sf_t4_timer_expire() consume a stale T4 expiry if no outstanding ASCONF remains.

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Analysis

A critical use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's SCTP implementation could allow for remote code execution or system instability. This affects systems where SCTP is enabled and processes network traffic.

Relevant roles

LinuxBackendCloudDockerKubernetesC

Severity

Score: 9.8(CRITICAL)
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV: NETWORK
AC: LOW
PR: NONE
UI: NONE
S: UNCHANGED
C: HIGH
I: HIGH
A: HIGH

EPSS

Probability of exploitation (next 30 days): 0.0018 (0.2%)
Percentile: 7.2%
EPSS: 2026-08-24

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: fix use-after-free of cached ASCONF chunk addip_last_asconf caches the outstanding outbound ASCONF chunk. The normal ASCONF-ACK completion path releases the chunk and clears the pointer. However, sctp_asconf_queue_teardown() releases the cached chunk without clearing addip_last_asconf. During peer restart handling, sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a() queues SCTP_CMD_PURGE_ASCONF_QUEUE, which invokes sctp_asconf_queue_teardown() while the association remains alive and leaves the pointer dangling. A delayed authenticated ASCONF-ACK can then reach sctp_sf_do_asconf_ack(), which accesses the stale chunk and passes it to sctp_process_asconf_ack(), causing a use-after-free and a second release. Clearing the pointer exposes a race with T4 expiry. Peer restart handling queues the timer stop before the purge, but SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP uses timer_delete(), which does not wait for a callback already running on another CPU. Such a callback can reach sctp_sf_t4_timer_expire() after the purge and dereference NULL. Clear addip_last_asconf after releasing the cached chunk, and make sctp_sf_t4_timer_expire() consume a stale T4 expiry if no outstanding ASCONF remains.

Published: 8/22/2026, 4:16:30 PM
Last modified: 8/25/2026, 6:18:33 AM

References

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