# CVE-2026-23340: net: sched: avoid qdisc_reset_all_tx_gt() vs dequeue race for lockless qdiscs

> A race condition in the Linux kernel network scheduler allows use-after-free, potentially causing crashes or code execution during queue changes.

- **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:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-80666, BELL-CVE-2026-23340, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23340, GHSA-27rj-chmq-rh6r, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23340, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23340, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23340, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23340, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23340, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23340

## What is CVE-2026-23340?

CVE-2026-23340 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:

net: sched: avoid qdisc_reset_all_tx_gt() vs dequeue race for lockless qdiscs

When shrinking the number of real tx queues,
netif_set_real_num_tx_queues() calls qdisc_reset_all_tx_gt() to flush
qdiscs for queues which will no longer be used.

qdisc_reset_all_tx_gt() currently serializes qdisc_reset() with
qdisc_lock(). However, for lockless qdiscs, the dequeue path is
serialized by qdisc_run_begin/end() using qdisc->seqlock instead, so
qdisc_reset() can run concurrently with __qdisc_run() and free skbs
while they are still being dequeued, leading to UAF.

This can easily be reproduced on e.g. virtio-net by imposing heavy
traffic while frequently changing the number of queue pairs:

  iperf3 -ub0 -c $peer -t 0 &
  while :; do
    ethtool -L eth0 combined 1
    ethtool -L eth0 combined 2
  done

With KASAN enabled, this leads to reports like:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __qdisc_run+0x133f/0x1760
  ...
  Call Trace:
   <TASK>
   ...
   __qdisc_run+0x133f/0x1760
   __dev_queue_xmit+0x248f/0x3550
   ip_finish_output2+0xa42/0x2110
   ip_output+0x1a7/0x410
   ip_send_skb+0x2e6/0x480
   udp_send_skb+0xb0a/0x1590
   udp_sendmsg+0x13c9/0x1fc0
   ...
   </TASK>

  Allocated by task 1270 on cpu 5 at 44.558414s:
   ...
   alloc_skb_with_frags+0x84/0x7c0
   sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x69a/0x830
   __ip_append_data+0x1b86/0x48c0
   ip_make_skb+0x1e8/0x2b0
   udp_sendmsg+0x13a6/0x1fc0
   ...

  Freed by task 1306 on cpu 3 at 44.558445s:
   ...
   kmem_cache_free+0x117/0x5e0
   pfifo_fast_reset+0x14d/0x580
   qdisc_reset+0x9e/0x5f0
   netif_set_real_num_tx_queues+0x303/0x840
   virtnet_set_channels+0x1bf/0x260 [virtio_net]
   ethnl_set_channels+0x684/0xae0
   ethnl_default_set_doit+0x31a/0x890
   ...

Serialize qdisc_reset_all_tx_gt() against the lockless dequeue path by
taking qdisc->seqlock for TCQ_F_NOLOCK qdiscs, matching the
serialization model already used by dev_reset_queue().

Additionally clear QDISC_STATE_NON_EMPTY after reset so the qdisc state
reflects an empty queue, avoiding needless re-scheduling.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free), CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23340?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23340?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23340 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23340 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-2026-23340 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23340 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-2026-23340 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-2026-23340/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23340/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23340
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23340
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23340

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23340/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.