CVE-2026-43091 (GCVE-0-2026-43091)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-05-06 07:40 – Updated: 2026-08-05 12:25
VLAI
Title
xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit xfrm_policy_fini() frees the policy_bydst hash tables after flushing the policy work items and deleting all policies, but it does not wait for concurrent RCU readers to leave their read-side critical sections first. The policy_bydst tables are published via rcu_assign_pointer() and are looked up through rcu_dereference_check(), so netns teardown must also wait for an RCU grace period before freeing the table memory. Fix this by adding synchronize_rcu() before freeing the policy hash tables.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d , < b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937 (git)
Affected: e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d , < 438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e (git)
Affected: e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d , < 3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094 (git)
Affected: e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d , < 33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028 (git)
Affected: e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d , < 069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446 (git)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 4.9
Unaffected: 0 , < 4.9 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.6.136 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.83 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.24 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.19.14 , ≤ 6.19.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.0 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "4.9"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "4.9",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.6.136",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.83",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.24",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.19.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.19.14",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.0",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.136",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.83",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.24",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.19.14",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.0",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nxfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit\n\nxfrm_policy_fini() frees the policy_bydst hash tables after flushing the\npolicy work items and deleting all policies, but it does not wait for\nconcurrent RCU readers to leave their read-side critical sections first.\n\nThe policy_bydst tables are published via rcu_assign_pointer() and are\nlooked up through rcu_dereference_check(), so netns teardown must also\nwait for an RCU grace period before freeing the table memory.\n\nFix this by adding synchronize_rcu() before freeing the policy hash tables."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The vulnerable path requires local control of a network namespace/XFRM policy state and concurrent namespace teardown; remote packets can exercise XFRM policy lookups, but a remote attacker cannot normally trigger the required netns exit.\nAC:L - The race is attacker-controllable by creating XFRM policies, generating policy lookups, and tearing down the namespace concurrently; no rare configuration or victim-controlled timing is required beyond winning a repeatable local race.\nPR:L - XFRM netlink operations require CAP_NET_ADMIN in the target network namespace, but an unprivileged local user can obtain that in a new user+network namespace on common userns-enabled systems.\nUI:N - No victim action is required once the local attacker can run code and issue the relevant namespace, netlink, and traffic operations.\nS:U - The impact is within the kernel security authority; this is a standard kernel memory-safety issue rather than a VM, IOMMU, or separate-scope escape.\nC:H - This is a use-after-free of an RCU-published XFRM policy hash table, and stale readers may dereference reallocated attacker-influenced memory during policy lookup.\nI:H - As a kernel UAF in a list traversal path that can reach policy object handling, the freed memory can plausibly be shaped into fake list/policy data and leveraged for kernel memory corruption.\nA:H - At minimum, dereferencing freed hash-table memory during packet or route policy lookup can trigger a kernel oops or panic, causing high availability impact."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:25:52.160Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446"
        }
      ],
      "title": "xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-43091",
    "datePublished": "2026-05-06T07:40:23.955Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-05-01T14:12:55.984Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:25:52.160Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-43091",
      "date": "2026-09-22",
      "epss": "0.00129",
      "percentile": "0.02876"
    },
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "product": "Linux",
                "programFiles": [
                  "net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c"
                ],
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "lessThan": "b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "e1e551bc56302b80ff930c966f9985095fb1b70d",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  }
                ]
              },
              {
                "defaultStatus": "affected",
                "product": "Linux",
                "programFiles": [
                  "net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c"
                ],
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "4.9"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "4.9",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "0",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.6.136",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.12.83",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.18.24",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.19.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.19.14",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "7.0",
                    "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
          }
        ],
        "configurations": [
          {
            "nodes": [
              {
                "cpeMatch": [
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "F2AB5131-D1D3-4634-BAD0-DCDA846721A3",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.136",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "4.9",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "7F0AE5B5-23AC-4DCC-B37A-51CA1DAE7BA8",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.83",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "6.7",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "8126B8B8-6D0B-4443-86C1-672AEE893555",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.24",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "6.13",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "D6A8A074-BBF4-4803-ABED-519A839435BB",
                    "versionEndExcluding": "6.19.14",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "6.19",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "F253B622-8837-4245-BCE5-A7BF8FC76A16",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "4AE85AD8-4641-4E7C-A2F4-305E2CD9EE64",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "F666C8D8-6538-46D4-B318-87610DE64C34",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "02259FDA-961B-47BC-AE7F-93D7EC6E90C2",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "58A9FEFF-C040-420D-8F0A-BFDAAA1DF258",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "1D2315C0-D46F-4F85-9754-F9E5E11374A6",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  },
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "512EE3A8-A590-4501-9A94-5D4B268D6138",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  }
                ],
                "negate": false,
                "operator": "OR"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nxfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit\n\nxfrm_policy_fini() frees the policy_bydst hash tables after flushing the\npolicy work items and deleting all policies, but it does not wait for\nconcurrent RCU readers to leave their read-side critical sections first.\n\nThe policy_bydst tables are published via rcu_assign_pointer() and are\nlooked up through rcu_dereference_check(), so netns teardown must also\nwait for an RCU grace period before freeing the table memory.\n\nFix this by adding synchronize_rcu() before freeing the policy hash tables."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-43091",
        "lastModified": "2026-06-17T10:48:55.183",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.8,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
              "type": "Secondary"
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2026-05-06T10:16:22.433",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "tags": [
              "Patch"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/069daad4f2ae9c5c108131995529d5f02392c446"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "tags": [
              "Patch"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33a3149dd81a1e2f52b80ee1e0fc380b39f3d028"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "tags": [
              "Patch"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3733fce2871c9bca9dd18a1a23b1432ea215a094"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "tags": [
              "Patch"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/438b1f668ad58f46ce699bb48e4698a7839e3f9e"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "tags": [
              "Patch"
            ],
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b66920a3348c0f63ba18365248fa21fbf0b3a937"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "NVD-CWE-noinfo"
              }
            ],
            "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
            "type": "Primary"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-11T01:13:54+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-43091",
      "id": "CVE-2026-43091",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-05-06T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "246",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "28",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: xfrm: Wait for RCU readers during policy netns exit",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-43091.json",
      "version": "3"
    },
    "suse_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-09-11T01:21:11Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-43091",
      "id": "CVE-2026-43091",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-05-07T02:18:46Z",
      "product_status:first_fixed": "2",
      "product_status:known_affected": "364",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "6",
      "product_status:recommended": "145",
      "source": "SUSE CSAF VEX",
      "status": "interim",
      "title": "SUSE CVE CVE-2026-43091",
      "url": "https://ftp.suse.com/pub/projects/security/csaf-vex/cve-2026-43091.json",
      "version": "5"
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.



Related by attack behaviour

Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.