{"api_version":"1","generated_at":"2026-08-22T06:23:57+00:00","cve":"CVE-2026-68138","urls":{"html":"https://cve.report/CVE-2026-68138","api":"https://cve.report/api/cve/CVE-2026-68138.json","docs":"https://cve.report/api","cve_org":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68138","nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68138"},"summary":{"title":"net/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put\n\nqdisc_get_rtab() and qdisc_put_rtab() mutate the process-global singly\nlinked list qdisc_rtab_list and a plain non-atomic 'int refcnt' with no\nlock. This was only safe because every caller historically held the RTNL\nmutex, which serialized all rate-table lookups, inserts and frees.\n\nThat invariant no longer holds. cls_flower sets\nTCF_PROTO_OPS_DOIT_UNLOCKED, so tc_new_tfilter() keeps rtnl_held == false\nfor it and sets TCA_ACT_FLAGS_NO_RTNL. That flag propagates through\ntcf_exts_validate_ex() -> tcf_action_init() -> tcf_action_init_1() ->\ntcf_police_init(), which calls qdisc_get_rtab()/qdisc_put_rtab() with the\nRTNL mutex NOT held. Two RTM_NEWTFILTER requests on different CPUs, each\nadding a flower filter with a police action carrying the same rate, then\nrace on qdisc_rtab_list and on the non-atomic refcnt, leading to a\nuse-after-free / double-free of the kmalloc-2k struct qdisc_rate_table.\nqdisc_rtab_list is a single global (not per-netns), so the corrupted\nobject is shared system-wide.\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   tcf_police_init+0xda9/0x1590\n   tcf_action_init_1+0x460/0x6b0\n   tcf_action_init+0x439/0xa40\n   tcf_exts_validate_ex+0x42d/0x550\n   fl_change+0xddd/0x7da0\n   tc_new_tfilter+0xaa7/0x2420\n   rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x95e/0xe90\n  which belongs to the cache kmalloc-2k of size 2048\n\nProtect qdisc_rtab_list and the refcount with a dedicated spinlock. The\n(sleeping, GFP_KERNEL) allocation in qdisc_get_rtab() is performed before\ntaking the lock; if a concurrent inserter added an identical table in the\nmeantime the freshly allocated one is freed under the lock, so no\nduplicate is leaked. qdisc_put_rtab() now decrements the refcount and\nunlinks under the same lock.","state":"PUBLISHED","assigner":"Linux","published_at":"2026-08-10 13:19:59","updated_at":"2026-08-17 05:18:13"},"problem_types":[],"metrics":[{"version":"3.1","source":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","type":"Secondary","score":"7.8","severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","data":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7.8,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"}},{"version":"3.1","source":"CNA","type":"DECLARED","score":"7.8","severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","data":{"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"}}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68138","name":"CVE Program record","refsource":"CVE.ORG","tags":["canonical"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68138","name":"NVD vulnerability detail","refsource":"NVD","tags":["canonical","analysis"]}],"affected":[{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 5.1","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 5.1 semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.1.6 7.1.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.2 * original_commit_for_fix","platforms":[]}],"timeline":[],"solutions":[],"workarounds":[],"exploits":[],"credits":[],"nvd_cpes":[],"vendor_comments":[],"enrichments":{"kev":null,"epss":{"cve_year":"2026","cve_id":"68138","cve":"CVE-2026-68138","epss":"0.001290000","percentile":"0.029930000","score_date":"2026-08-17","updated_at":"2026-08-18 00:11:47"},"legacy_qids":[]},"source_records":{"cve_program":{"containers":{"cna":{"affected":[{"defaultStatus":"unaffected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["net/sched/sch_api.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"lessThan":"fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d","status":"affected","version":"470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047","status":"affected","version":"470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66","versionType":"git"}]},{"defaultStatus":"affected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["net/sched/sch_api.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"5.1"},{"lessThan":"5.1","status":"unaffected","version":"0","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.1.6","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.2","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"cpeMatch":[{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.1.6","versionStartIncluding":"5.1","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.2","versionStartIncluding":"5.1","vulnerable":true}],"negate":false,"operator":"OR"}]}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put\n\nqdisc_get_rtab() and qdisc_put_rtab() mutate the process-global singly\nlinked list qdisc_rtab_list and a plain non-atomic 'int refcnt' with no\nlock. This was only safe because every caller historically held the RTNL\nmutex, which serialized all rate-table lookups, inserts and frees.\n\nThat invariant no longer holds. cls_flower sets\nTCF_PROTO_OPS_DOIT_UNLOCKED, so tc_new_tfilter() keeps rtnl_held == false\nfor it and sets TCA_ACT_FLAGS_NO_RTNL. That flag propagates through\ntcf_exts_validate_ex() -> tcf_action_init() -> tcf_action_init_1() ->\ntcf_police_init(), which calls qdisc_get_rtab()/qdisc_put_rtab() with the\nRTNL mutex NOT held. Two RTM_NEWTFILTER requests on different CPUs, each\nadding a flower filter with a police action carrying the same rate, then\nrace on qdisc_rtab_list and on the non-atomic refcnt, leading to a\nuse-after-free / double-free of the kmalloc-2k struct qdisc_rate_table.\nqdisc_rtab_list is a single global (not per-netns), so the corrupted\nobject is shared system-wide.\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   tcf_police_init+0xda9/0x1590\n   tcf_action_init_1+0x460/0x6b0\n   tcf_action_init+0x439/0xa40\n   tcf_exts_validate_ex+0x42d/0x550\n   fl_change+0xddd/0x7da0\n   tc_new_tfilter+0xaa7/0x2420\n   rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x95e/0xe90\n  which belongs to the cache kmalloc-2k of size 2048\n\nProtect qdisc_rtab_list and the refcount with a dedicated spinlock. The\n(sleeping, GFP_KERNEL) allocation in qdisc_get_rtab() is performed before\ntaking the lock; if a concurrent inserter added an identical table in the\nmeantime the freshly allocated one is freed under the lock, so no\nduplicate is leaked. qdisc_put_rtab() now decrements the refcount and\nunlinks under the same lock."}],"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 bug is reached only via local RTM_NEWTFILTER rtnetlink messages (tc flower filter with police action) through rtnetlink_rcv_msg→tc_new_tfilter→fl_change→tcf_police_init→qdisc_get_rtab/qdisc_put_rtab; no remote packet or network protocol path exists.\nAC:L - cls_flower is TCF_PROTO_OPS_DOIT_UNLOCKED, so concurrent RTM_NEWTFILTER requests run without RTNL; the attacker controls both racing threads/CPUs and can repeatedly install flower filters with identical police rate tables to deterministically hit the global qdisc_rtab_list/refcnt race.\nPR:L - Non-GET rtnetlink handlers require netlink_net_capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN); this is namespace-scoped, so an unprivileged local user obtains CAP_NET_ADMIN via user namespaces (unshare -Urn), sets up clsact/ingress, and installs flower+police rules without init-namespace root.\nUI:N - Exploitation is fully self-contained: the attacker issues the concurrent tc/netlink commands from its own processes and needs no victim to mount filesystems, click links, or perform any other interactive action.\nS:U - Impact is heap corruption and UAF/double-free in kernel kmalloc-2k slabs within the same kernel security authority; although qdisc_rtab_list is global across netns, this is standard kernel memory corruption/privilege escalation, not a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary escape.\nC:H - Concurrent non-atomic refcnt and list updates cause slab use-after-free/double-free of struct qdisc_rate_table (KASAN-confirmed in qdisc_put_rtab); freed 2KB objects are attacker-influenceable via kmalloc timing and are classically weaponizable for arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - The race corrupts a process-global singly linked list and can double-free a kmalloc-2k qdisc_rate_table, yielding classic heap metadata/object corruption primitives that can be developed into arbitrary kernel writes and local privilege escalation/code execution.\nA:H - Demonstrated KASAN slab-use-after-free in qdisc_put_rtab on the error/teardown path, and concurrent double-free of the same rate table can panic the kernel; the trigger is repeatable at will with concurrent netlink requests and causes task death or system-wide instability."}]}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T04:59:31.524Z","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux"},"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047"}],"title":"net/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","assignerShortName":"Linux","cveId":"CVE-2026-68138","datePublished":"2026-08-10T11:59:01.744Z","dateReserved":"2026-07-30T09:28:09.370Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-17T04:59:31.524Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-08-10 13:19:59","lastModifiedDate":"2026-08-17 05:18:13","problem_types":[],"metrics":{"cvssMetricV31":[{"source":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","type":"Secondary","cvssData":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7.8,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"},"exploitabilityScore":1.8,"impactScore":5.9}]},"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"68138","Ordinal":"1","Title":"net/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put","CVE":"CVE-2026-68138","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"68138","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put\n\nqdisc_get_rtab() and qdisc_put_rtab() mutate the process-global singly\nlinked list qdisc_rtab_list and a plain non-atomic 'int refcnt' with no\nlock. This was only safe because every caller historically held the RTNL\nmutex, which serialized all rate-table lookups, inserts and frees.\n\nThat invariant no longer holds. cls_flower sets\nTCF_PROTO_OPS_DOIT_UNLOCKED, so tc_new_tfilter() keeps rtnl_held == false\nfor it and sets TCA_ACT_FLAGS_NO_RTNL. That flag propagates through\ntcf_exts_validate_ex() -> tcf_action_init() -> tcf_action_init_1() ->\ntcf_police_init(), which calls qdisc_get_rtab()/qdisc_put_rtab() with the\nRTNL mutex NOT held. Two RTM_NEWTFILTER requests on different CPUs, each\nadding a flower filter with a police action carrying the same rate, then\nrace on qdisc_rtab_list and on the non-atomic refcnt, leading to a\nuse-after-free / double-free of the kmalloc-2k struct qdisc_rate_table.\nqdisc_rtab_list is a single global (not per-netns), so the corrupted\nobject is shared system-wide.\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   qdisc_put_rtab+0x12f/0x160\n   tcf_police_init+0xda9/0x1590\n   tcf_action_init_1+0x460/0x6b0\n   tcf_action_init+0x439/0xa40\n   tcf_exts_validate_ex+0x42d/0x550\n   fl_change+0xddd/0x7da0\n   tc_new_tfilter+0xaa7/0x2420\n   rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x95e/0xe90\n  which belongs to the cache kmalloc-2k of size 2048\n\nProtect qdisc_rtab_list and the refcount with a dedicated spinlock. The\n(sleeping, GFP_KERNEL) allocation in qdisc_get_rtab() is performed before\ntaking the lock; if a concurrent inserter added an identical table in the\nmeantime the freshly allocated one is freed under the lock, so no\nduplicate is leaked. qdisc_put_rtab() now decrements the refcount and\nunlinks under the same lock.","Type":"Description","Title":"net/sched: serialize qdisc_rtab_list against concurrent get/put"}]}}}