# CVE-2026-45918: ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's OpenVPN TCP implementation causes a null pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **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:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 27 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-45918, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45918, GHSA-478p-qchq-q398, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918

## What is CVE-2026-45918?

CVE-2026-45918 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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:

ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close()

When deleting a peer in case of keepalive expiration, the peer is
removed from the OpenVPN hashtable and is temporary inserted in a
"release list" for further processing.

This happens in:
ovpn_peer_keepalive_work()
  unlock_ovpn(release_list)

This processing includes detaching from the socket being used to
talk to this peer, by restoring its original proto and socket
ops/callbacks.

In case of TCP it may happen that, while the peer is sitting in
the release list, userspace decides to close the socket.
This will result in a concurrent execution of:

tcp_close(sk)
  __tcp_close(sk)
    sock_orphan(sk)
      sk_set_socket(sk, NULL)

The last function call will set sk->sk_socket to NULL.

When the releasing routine is resumed, ovpn_tcp_socket_detach()
will attempt to dereference sk->sk_socket to restore its original
ops member. This operation will crash due to sk->sk_socket being NULL.

Fix this race condition by testing-and-accessing
sk->sk_socket atomically under sk->sk_callback_lock.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45918?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-45918?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-45918 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45918 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-2026-45918 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-45918 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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-2026-45918 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-2026-45918/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45918/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45918
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45918
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-45918

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45918/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.