CVE-2026-52917

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Linux Kernel SCTP Association Stale State Use-After-Free

Publication date: 2026-06-24

Last updated on: 2026-07-08

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: diag: reject stale associations in dump_one path The SCTP exact sock_diag lookup can hold a transport reference, block on lock_sock(sk), and then resume after sctp_association_free() has marked the association dead and freed its bind address list. When that happens, inet_assoc_attr_size() and inet_diag_msg_sctpasoc_fill() can still dereference association state that is no longer valid for reporting. In particular, inet_diag_msg_sctpasoc_fill() may read an empty bind-address list as a real sctp_sockaddr_entry and trigger an out-of-bounds read from unrelated association memory. Reject the association after taking the socket lock if it has been reaped or detached from the endpoint, and report the lookup as stale. This keeps the exact dump-one path from formatting torn association state.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-06-24

Last Modified

2026-07-08

Generated

2026-07-14

AI Q&A

2026-06-24

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-13

NVD

CVE-2026-52917

EUVD

EUVD-2026-38720

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.176 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.2 (inc) to 6.6.143 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.210 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.36 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.7 (inc) to 6.12.94 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.19 (inc) to 7.0.13 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	From 4.7 (inc) to 5.10.259 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-125	The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability has been resolved in the Linux kernel by rejecting stale SCTP associations during the diag dump_one path. To mitigate this vulnerability, you should update your Linux kernel to a version that includes this fix.

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) diagnostic code. Specifically, the issue occurs in the exact sock_diag lookup process, where a transport reference can be held and the code can block on a socket lock. During this time, the SCTP association may be freed and marked dead, but the diagnostic functions may still try to access the now-invalid association state.

As a result, functions like inet_diag_msg_sctpasoc_fill() may read an empty bind-address list as if it were a valid SCTP socket address entry, leading to an out-of-bounds read from unrelated memory. The fix involves rejecting associations that have been reaped or detached after taking the socket lock, thus preventing the diagnostic code from accessing stale or torn association state.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to out-of-bounds memory reads in the Linux kernel when diagnostic information about SCTP associations is requested. Such out-of-bounds reads may cause system instability, crashes, or potentially expose sensitive kernel memory contents.

An attacker or diagnostic tool exploiting this flaw could cause denial of service or gain unintended access to kernel memory, which could be leveraged for further attacks or information disclosure.

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