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CVSS 9.8 · CRITICAL

CVE-2026-74688Use-after-free vulnerability in Linux kernel (SCTP)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: clear control chunk transport if it is being removed sctp_make_heartbeat_ack() caches the destination transport in chunk->transport without taking a reference. When src_out_of_asoc_ok is enabled, the HEARTBEAT ACK may remain queued on control_chunk_list instead of being transmitted immediately. If the peer transport is removed while the chunk is still queued, sctp_assoc_rm_peer() drops the transport and schedules it for RCU freeing, but only clears cached transport pointers in out_chunk_list. The queued control chunk therefore retains a dangling transport pointer. Once an ASCONF_ACK clears the suppression and the queued control chunk is transmitted, SCTP dereferences the stale transport pointer, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by also clearing chunk->transport for queued control chunks in control_chunk_list when removing the transport.

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Analysis

A critical use-after-free vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's SCTP implementation. This flaw could lead to system instability or remote code execution if the SCTP protocol is active and specific configurations are enabled.

Relevant roles

LinuxCloudBackendciberseguridadDockerKubernetes

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: 7.3%
EPSS: 2026-08-24

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: clear control chunk transport if it is being removed sctp_make_heartbeat_ack() caches the destination transport in chunk->transport without taking a reference. When src_out_of_asoc_ok is enabled, the HEARTBEAT ACK may remain queued on control_chunk_list instead of being transmitted immediately. If the peer transport is removed while the chunk is still queued, sctp_assoc_rm_peer() drops the transport and schedules it for RCU freeing, but only clears cached transport pointers in out_chunk_list. The queued control chunk therefore retains a dangling transport pointer. Once an ASCONF_ACK clears the suppression and the queued control chunk is transmitted, SCTP dereferences the stale transport pointer, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by also clearing chunk->transport for queued control chunks in control_chunk_list when removing the transport.

Published: 8/22/2026, 4:16:43 PM
Last modified: 8/25/2026, 6:18:51 AM

References

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