# CVE-2024-26631: ipv6: mcast: fix data-race in ipv6_mc_down / mld_ifc_work

> A data race in the Linux kernel IPv6 multicast code can lead to system instability or crashes due to improper locking.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Mar 2024
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-26631, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-26631, GHSA-mvgm-595c-w457, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-26631

## What is CVE-2024-26631?

CVE-2024-26631 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

ipv6: mcast: fix data-race in ipv6_mc_down / mld_ifc_work

idev->mc_ifc_count can be written over without proper locking.

Originally found by syzbot [1], fix this issue by encapsulating calls
to mld_ifc_stop_work() (and mld_gq_stop_work() for good measure) with
mutex_lock() and mutex_unlock() accordingly as these functions
should only be called with mc_lock per their declarations.

[1]
BUG: KCSAN: data-race in ipv6_mc_down / mld_ifc_work

write to 0xffff88813a80c832 of 1 bytes by task 3771 on cpu 0:
 mld_ifc_stop_work net/ipv6/mcast.c:1080 [inline]
 ipv6_mc_down+0x10a/0x280 net/ipv6/mcast.c:2725
 addrconf_ifdown+0xe32/0xf10 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3949
 addrconf_notify+0x310/0x980
 notifier_call_chain kernel/notifier.c:93 [inline]
 raw_notifier_call_chain+0x6b/0x1c0 kernel/notifier.c:461
 __dev_notify_flags+0x205/0x3d0
 dev_change_flags+0xab/0xd0 net/core/dev.c:8685
 do_setlink+0x9f6/0x2430 net/core/rtnetlink.c:2916
 rtnl_group_changelink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3458 [inline]
 __rtnl_newlink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3717 [inline]
 rtnl_newlink+0xbb3/0x1670 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3754
 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x807/0x8c0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6558
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x126/0x220 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2545
 rtnetlink_rcv+0x1c/0x20 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6576
 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1342 [inline]
 netlink_unicast+0x589/0x650 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1368
 netlink_sendmsg+0x66e/0x770 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1910
 ...

write to 0xffff88813a80c832 of 1 bytes by task 22 on cpu 1:
 mld_ifc_work+0x54c/0x7b0 net/ipv6/mcast.c:2653
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:2627 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0x5b8/0xa30 kernel/workqueue.c:2700
 worker_thread+0x525/0x730 kernel/workqueue.c:2781
 ...

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-26631?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-26631?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-26631 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26631 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-26631 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-26631 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26631 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26631/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26631/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-26631
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26631
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-26631

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26631/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.