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GHSA-3HPX-WJCG-9R3X

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-19 12:30 – Updated: 2026-07-24 15:32
VLAI
Details

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

hdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state

Each PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp registers a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the hdlc->state allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree() in both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside attach_hdlc_protocol().

The ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so detach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the kfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(&proto->timer) in ppp_cp_event(), is partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the ->CLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A ppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp->lock) survives the kfree and then dereferences proto->state / ppp->lock in freed memory, leading to a use-after-free.

Fix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on every per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto->detach(dev) before kfree(hdlc->state), so timer_shutdown_sync() now runs on both free paths. timer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the keepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and shutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown.

Initialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is attached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so that the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and ppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list structures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so struct ppp's protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first timer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol without ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync() operating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of ppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the initialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list twice.

This bug was found by static analysis.

Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-63803"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-416"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-07-19T12:16:52Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nhdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state\n\nEach PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp\nregisters a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the\nhdlc-\u003estate allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree()\nin both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside\nattach_hdlc_protocol().\n\nThe ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so\ndetach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the\nkfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(\u0026proto-\u003etimer) in ppp_cp_event(),\nis partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the\n-\u003eCLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A\nppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp-\u003elock) survives the\nkfree and then dereferences proto-\u003estate / ppp-\u003elock in freed memory,\nleading to a use-after-free.\n\nFix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on\nevery per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto-\u003edetach(dev)\nbefore kfree(hdlc-\u003estate), so timer_shutdown_sync()\nnow runs on both free paths.\ntimer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the\nkeepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and\nshutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown.\n\nInitialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is\nattached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so\nthat the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and\nppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list\nstructures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so\nstruct ppp\u0027s protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first\ntimer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol\nwithout ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync()\noperating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of\nppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the\ninitialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list\ntwice.\n\nThis bug was found by static analysis.",
  "id": "GHSA-3hpx-wjcg-9r3x",
  "modified": "2026-07-24T15:32:42Z",
  "published": "2026-07-19T12:30:23Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63803"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a84398101bf9f11e84b176343e4e3ba83e668c0"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86d80a231bde4cfb64bfbfbfffd83056fc93628f"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}



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