# CVE-2026-23342: bpf: Fix race in cpumap on PREEMPT_RT

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's BPF cpumap on PREEMPT_RT systems allows concurrent access to per-CPU queues, potentially leading to memory corruption or crashes.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23342, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23342, GHSA-c898-7qpg-fw83, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23342

## What is CVE-2026-23342?

CVE-2026-23342 is a medium-severity 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:

bpf: Fix race in cpumap on PREEMPT_RT

On PREEMPT_RT kernels, the per-CPU xdp_bulk_queue (bq) can be accessed
concurrently by multiple preemptible tasks on the same CPU.

The original code assumes bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush() run
atomically with respect to each other on the same CPU, relying on
local_bh_disable() to prevent preemption. However, on PREEMPT_RT,
local_bh_disable() only calls migrate_disable() (when
PREEMPT_RT_NEEDS_BH_LOCK is not set) and does not disable
preemption, which allows CFS scheduling to preempt a task during
bq_flush_to_queue(), enabling another task on the same CPU to enter
bq_enqueue() and operate on the same per-CPU bq concurrently.

This leads to several races:

1. Double __list_del_clearprev(): after bq->count is reset in
   bq_flush_to_queue(), a preempting task can call bq_enqueue() ->
   bq_flush_to_queue() on the same bq when bq->count reaches
   CPU_MAP_BULK_SIZE. Both tasks then call __list_del_clearprev()
   on the same bq->flush_node, the second call dereferences the
   prev pointer that was already set to NULL by the first.

2. bq->count and bq->q[] races: concurrent bq_enqueue() can corrupt
   the packet queue while bq_flush_to_queue() is processing it.

The race between task A (__cpu_map_flush -> bq_flush_to_queue) and
task B (bq_enqueue -> bq_flush_to_queue) on the same CPU:

  Task A (xdp_do_flush)          Task B (cpu_map_enqueue)
  ----------------------         ------------------------
  bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
    spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
    /* flush bq->q[] to ptr_ring */
    bq->count = 0
    spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
                                   bq_enqueue(rcpu, xdpf)
    <-- CFS preempts Task A -->      bq->q[bq->count++] = xdpf
                                     /* ... more enqueues until full ... */
                                     bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
                                       spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
                                       /* flush to ptr_ring */
                                       spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
                                       __list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
                                         /* sets flush_node.prev = NULL */
    <-- Task A resumes -->
    __list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
      flush_node.prev->next = ...
      /* prev is NULL -> kernel oops */

Fix this by adding a local_lock_t to xdp_bulk_queue and acquiring it
in bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush(). These paths already run under
local_bh_disable(), so use local_lock_nested_bh() which on non-RT is
a pure annotation with no overhead, and on PREEMPT_RT provides a
per-CPU sleeping lock that serializes access to the bq.

To reproduce, insert an mdelay(100) between bq->count = 0 and
__list_del_clearprev() in bq_flush_to_queue(), then run reproducer
provided by syzkaller.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23342?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23342?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23342 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23342 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-2026-23342 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23342 is a medium-severity 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-2026-23342 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-2026-23342/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23342/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23342
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23342
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23342

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23342/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.