CVE-2026-72340
Received Received - Intake

Race Condition in Linux Kernel VCAP API

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-72340, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-17

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: microchip: vcap: fix races on the shared Super VCAP block The VCAP instances on a chip are not independent, yet they are locked independently. On sparx5 and lan969x the IS0 and IS2 instances are backed by the same Super VCAP hardware block and share its cache and command registers: every access drives the shared VCAP_SUPER_CTRL register and moves data through the shared cache registers. Accessing one instance therefore races with accessing another. The per-instance admin->lock cannot prevent this, as each instance takes a different lock. The locking issue is mostly disguised by the fact that the core usage of the vcap api runs under rtnl. However, the full rule dump in debugfs decodes rules straight from hardware (a READ command followed by a cache read) and runs outside rtnl, so it races a concurrent tc-flower rule write to another Super VCAP instance. Besides corrupting the dump, the read repopulates the shared cache between the writers cache fill and its write command, so the writer commits the wrong data and corrupts the hardware entry. Introduce vcap_lock() and vcap_unlock() helpers and route every rule lock site in the VCAP API and its debugfs code through them. Replace the per-instance admin->lock with a single mutex in struct vcap_control that serializes access to all instances. The helpers reach it through a new admin->vctrl back-pointer, and the clients initialise and destroy the control lock instead of a per-instance one. No path holds more than one instance lock, so collapsing them onto a single mutex cannot self-deadlock.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2026-08-15
Last Modified
2026-08-17
Generated
2026-09-04
AI Q&A
2026-08-15
EPSS Evaluated
2026-09-03
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
microchip vcap *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a race condition in the Linux kernel's Microchip VCAP (VLAN-aware Classless And Predictable) module. It affects chips like sparx5 and lan969x where multiple VCAP instances share the same hardware block. The issue occurs because the instances are locked independently, but their operations race when accessing shared registers and cache. This can lead to data corruption during hardware rule reads and writes.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's microchip vcap module and may not have direct detection commands. Monitor kernel logs for hardware corruption errors or unexpected VCAP rule failures. Check for inconsistent rule dumps in debugfs under /sys/kernel/debug/vcap/.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could cause incorrect network traffic filtering or rule enforcement on affected systems. It may lead to network misconfigurations, unauthorized access, or service disruptions due to corrupted hardware entries. Systems using Microchip VCAP with shared Super VCAP blocks are at risk.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR or HIPAA as it is a low-level kernel networking issue involving race conditions in hardware access. Compliance impacts would only occur if the vulnerability led to unauthorized data access, corruption, or system instability, which is not specified here.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to a patched version that includes the fix for CVE-2026-72340. Avoid concurrent access to VCAP instances sharing the same Super VCAP hardware block. Review and validate VCAP rule configurations for corruption.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2026-72340. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart