CVE-2026-53157

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel Phonet Device

Publication date: 2026-06-25

Last updated on: 2026-07-07

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phonet: free phonet_device after RCU grace period phonet_device_destroy() removes a phonet_device from the per-net device list with list_del_rcu(), but frees it immediately. RCU readers walking the same list can still hold a pointer to the object after it has been removed, leading to a slab-use-after-free. Use kfree_rcu(), matching the lifetime rule already used by phonet_address_del() for the same object type.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-06-25

Last Modified

2026-07-07

Generated

2026-07-15

AI Q&A

2026-06-25

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-14

NVD

CVE-2026-53157

EUVD

EUVD-2026-39248

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 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.36 (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	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.177 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.2 (inc) to 6.6.144 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.7 (inc) to 6.12.95 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.211 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 2.6.33 (inc) to 5.10.260 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-416	The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's phonet network subsystem. The function phonet_device_destroy() removes a phonet_device from a device list using list_del_rcu(), which is designed for safe removal in concurrent environments. However, it frees the phonet_device object immediately after removal instead of waiting for the RCU (Read-Copy-Update) grace period to expire. Because RCU readers may still hold pointers to this object during the grace period, this leads to a use-after-free condition where the kernel may access memory that has already been freed.

The fix involves using kfree_rcu() to defer freeing the object until after the RCU grace period, ensuring that no readers hold references to the freed memory.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to a use-after-free condition in the Linux kernel, which may cause system instability, crashes, or potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Such memory corruption issues can compromise the security and reliability of systems running vulnerable versions of the Linux kernel.

Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability is resolved by ensuring that the phonet_device is freed only after the RCU grace period using kfree_rcu(), instead of being freed immediately after removal with list_del_rcu().

To mitigate this vulnerability, you should update your Linux kernel to a version that includes this fix where phonet_device_destroy() uses kfree_rcu() to free the device safely.

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