# CVE-2026-23322: ipmi: Fix use-after-free and list corruption on sender error

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel IPMI driver allows attackers to cause memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution or system crashes.

- **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:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23322, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23322, GHSA-668m-q5h4-jfjc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23322

## What is CVE-2026-23322?

CVE-2026-23322 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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:

ipmi: Fix use-after-free and list corruption on sender error

The analysis from Breno:

When the SMI sender returns an error, smi_work() delivers an error
response but then jumps back to restart without cleaning up properly:

1. intf->curr_msg is not cleared, so no new message is pulled
2. newmsg still points to the message, causing sender() to be called
   again with the same message
3. If sender() fails again, deliver_err_response() is called with
   the same recv_msg that was already queued for delivery

This causes list_add corruption ("list_add double add") because the
recv_msg is added to the user_msgs list twice. Subsequently, the
corrupted list leads to use-after-free when the memory is freed and
reused, and eventually a NULL pointer dereference when accessing
recv_msg->done.

The buggy sequence:

  sender() fails
    -> deliver_err_response(recv_msg)  // recv_msg queued for delivery
    -> goto restart                    // curr_msg not cleared!
  sender() fails again (same message!)
    -> deliver_err_response(recv_msg)  // tries to queue same recv_msg
    -> LIST CORRUPTION

Fix this by freeing the message and setting it to NULL on a send error.
Also, always free the newmsg on a send error, otherwise it will leak.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23322?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23322?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23322 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23322 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-2026-23322 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23322 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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-2026-23322 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-2026-23322/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23322/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23322
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23322
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23322

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23322/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.