CVE-2026-23126

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

netdevsim: fix a race issue related to the operation on bpf_bound_progs list

The netdevsim driver lacks a protection mechanism for operations on the bpf_bound_progs list. When the nsim_bpf_create_prog() performs list_add_tail, it is possible that nsim_bpf_destroy_prog() is simultaneously performs list_del. Concurrent operations on the list may lead to list corruption and trigger a kernel crash as follows:

[ 417.290971] kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:62! [ 417.290983] invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI [ 417.290992] CPU: 10 PID: 168 Comm: kworker/10:1 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.19.0-rc5 #1 [ 417.291003] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 417.291007] Workqueue: events bpf_prog_free_deferred [ 417.291021] RIP: 0010:__list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0xa7/0xc0 [ 417.291034] Code: a8 ff 0f 0b 48 89 fe 48 89 ca 48 c7 c7 48 a1 eb ae e8 ed fb a8 ff 0f 0b 48 89 fe 48 89 c2 48 c7 c7 80 a1 eb ae e8 d9 fb a8 ff <0f> 0b 48 89 d1 48 c7 c7 d0 a1 eb ae 48 89 f2 48 89 c6 e8 c2 fb a8 [ 417.291040] RSP: 0018:ffffb16a40807df8 EFLAGS: 00010246 [ 417.291046] RAX: 000000000000006d RBX: ffff8e589866f500 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 417.291051] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff8e59f7b23180 RDI: ffff8e59f7b23180 [ 417.291055] RBP: ffffb16a412c9000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000003 [ 417.291059] R10: ffffb16a40807c80 R11: ffffffffaf9edce8 R12: ffff8e594427ac20 [ 417.291063] R13: ffff8e59f7b44780 R14: ffff8e58800b7a05 R15: 0000000000000000 [ 417.291074] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8e59f7b00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 417.291079] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 417.291083] CR2: 00007fc4083efe08 CR3: 00000001c3626006 CR4: 0000000000770ee0 [ 417.291088] PKRU: 55555554 [ 417.291091] Call Trace: [ 417.291096] [ 417.291103] nsim_bpf_destroy_prog+0x31/0x80 [netdevsim] [ 417.291154] __bpf_prog_offload_destroy+0x2a/0x80 [ 417.291163] bpf_prog_dev_bound_destroy+0x6f/0xb0 [ 417.291171] bpf_prog_free_deferred+0x18e/0x1a0 [ 417.291178] process_one_work+0x18a/0x3a0 [ 417.291188] worker_thread+0x27b/0x3a0 [ 417.291197] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 [ 417.291207] kthread+0xe5/0x120 [ 417.291214] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 417.291221] ret_from_fork+0x31/0x50 [ 417.291230] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 417.291236] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 417.291246]

Add a mutex lock, to prevent simultaneous addition and deletion operations on the list.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f560cfc7706029294132482fff5d1bc7884b70d
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/68462ecc40ea8f780fb3c74ebfddd05506bb731b
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b97d5eedf4976cc94321243be83b39efe81a0e15
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d77379ca82efcb2fe563359cc795027d680410db
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1f9cfd2f46a73b7de2982d01be822eac3a0efaa