# CVE-2026-23124: ipv6: annotate data-race in ndisc_router_discovery()

> A data race in the Linux kernel IPv6 neighbor discovery allows concurrent access to MTU settings, potentially causing inconsistent state.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 14 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-77706, BELL-CVE-2026-23124, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23124, GHSA-528j-v6ch-qq32, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23124, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23124, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23124

## What is CVE-2026-23124?

CVE-2026-23124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. 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: annotate data-race in ndisc_router_discovery()

syzbot found that ndisc_router_discovery() could read and write
in6_dev->ra_mtu without holding a lock [1]

This looks fine, IFLA_INET6_RA_MTU is best effort.

Add READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() to document the race.

Note that we might also reject illegal MTU values
(mtu < IPV6_MIN_MTU || mtu > skb->dev->mtu) in a future patch.

[1]
BUG: KCSAN: data-race in ndisc_router_discovery / ndisc_router_discovery

read to 0xffff888119809c20 of 4 bytes by task 25817 on cpu 1:
  ndisc_router_discovery+0x151d/0x1c90 net/ipv6/ndisc.c:1558
  ndisc_rcv+0x2ad/0x3d0 net/ipv6/ndisc.c:1841
  icmpv6_rcv+0xe5a/0x12f0 net/ipv6/icmp.c:989
  ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0xb2a/0x10d0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:438
  ip6_input_finish+0xf0/0x1d0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:489
  NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline]
  ip6_input+0x5e/0x140 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:500
  ip6_mc_input+0x27c/0x470 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:590
  dst_input include/net/dst.h:474 [inline]
  ip6_rcv_finish+0x336/0x340 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:79
...

write to 0xffff888119809c20 of 4 bytes by task 25816 on cpu 0:
  ndisc_router_discovery+0x155a/0x1c90 net/ipv6/ndisc.c:1559
  ndisc_rcv+0x2ad/0x3d0 net/ipv6/ndisc.c:1841
  icmpv6_rcv+0xe5a/0x12f0 net/ipv6/icmp.c:989
  ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0xb2a/0x10d0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:438
  ip6_input_finish+0xf0/0x1d0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:489
  NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline]
  ip6_input+0x5e/0x140 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:500
  ip6_mc_input+0x27c/0x470 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:590
  dst_input include/net/dst.h:474 [inline]
  ip6_rcv_finish+0x336/0x340 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:79
...

value changed: 0x00000000 -> 0xe5400659

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23124?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23124?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23124 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23124 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-2026-23124 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23124 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. 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-2026-23124 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-2026-23124/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23124/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23124
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23124
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23124

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23124/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.