CVE-2026-97609

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

netfilter: cttimeout: prevent UAF during module unload

nf_ct_set_timeout() protects the timeout hook dereference and policy lookup with rcu_read_lock(). cttimeout_exit(), however, unregisters the per-net operations before it clears the hook.

This allows the following interleaving:

CPU 0 CPU 1 cttimeout_exit() nf_ct_set_timeout() unregister_pernet_subsys() rcu_read_lock() kfree(pernet) h = nf_ct_timeout_hook h->timeout_find_get() nfct_timeout_pernet()

The hook still points to ctnl_timeout_find_get() when CPU 1 looks up the already freed per-net timeout list. KASAN reported:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ctnl_timeout_find_get Read of size 8 by task poc/90 Call Trace: ctnl_timeout_find_get+0x271/0x2a0 [nfnetlink_cttimeout] nf_ct_set_timeout+0x7b/0x3c0 xt_ct_tg_check+0x724/0xb20 xt_check_target+0x234/0xa90 do_ipt_set_ctl+0x570/0x1270 Allocated by task 89: __kmalloc_noprof+0x16e/0x460 ops_init+0x6d/0x420 register_pernet_operations+0x2f6/0x670 Freed by task 91: kfree+0x131/0x390 ops_undo_list+0x3d4/0x730 unregister_pernet_operations+0x232/0x490 unregister_pernet_subsys+0x1c/0x30 cttimeout_exit+0x52/0x970 [nfnetlink_cttimeout]

Clear the hook and wait for existing readers before unregistering the per-net operations. This blocks new policy lookups and ensures readers that observed the hook finish before the per-net storage is freed.

Affected Software

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f69c570a73f2dedf75ea5166d47622d5fa958c1
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73f353bec62509c776184e49a031c6145cec0d05
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7fdd86c386b7f7cc72a126389c2cdb55d035221
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fec9b1de0d02de8dafa3cc344bcb91cf28660643