Use-After-Free in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-23074)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-23074). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/sched: Enforce that teql can only be used as root qdisc
Design intent of teql is that it is only supposed to be used as root qdisc.
We need to check for that constraint.
Although not important, I will describe the scenario that unearthed this
issue for the curious.
GangMin Kim managed to concot a scenario as follows:
ROOT qdisc 1:0 (QFQ)
├── class 1:1 (weight=15, lmax=16384) netem with delay 6.4s
└── class 1:2 (weight=1, lmax=1514) teql
GangMin sends a packet which is enqueued to 1:1 (netem).
Any invocation of dequeue by QFQ from this class will not return a packet
until after 6.4s. In the meantime, a second packet is sent and it lands on
1:2. teql's enqueue will return success and this will activate class 1:2.
Main issue is that teql only updates the parent visible qlen (sch->q.qlen)
at dequeue. Since QFQ will only call dequeue if peek succeeds (and teql's
peek always returns NULL), dequeue will never be called and thus the qlen
will remain as 0. With that in mind, when GangMin updates 1:2's lmax value,
the qfq_change_class calls qfq_deact_rm_from_agg. Since the child qdisc's
qlen was not incremented, qfq fails to deactivate the class, but still
frees its pointers from the aggregate. So when the first packet is
rescheduled after 6.4 seconds (netem's delay), a dangling pointer is
accessed causing GangMin's causing a UAF.
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-23074 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-23074" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-23074 (Linux kernel) — CWE-416 / CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Use-after-free (CWE-416) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- BellSoft Alpaquita BELL-CVE-2026-23074 linux-lts Fixed in: 6.1.163-r0
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23074 linux Fixed in: 5.10.249-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23074 linux Fixed in: 3.13.0-212.263
References
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- patch git.kernel.org
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web security.access.redhat.com
- web bugzilla.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web access.redhat.com
- web github.com