# CVE-2026-53259: ipv6: anycast: insert aca into global hash under idev->lock

> A race condition in the Linux kernel IPv6 anycast implementation allows a use-after-free, 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 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53259, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53259, GHSA-hqjh-c323-5jv8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53259

## What is CVE-2026-53259?

CVE-2026-53259 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jun 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: anycast: insert aca into global hash under idev->lock

syzbot reported a splat [1]: a slab-use-after-free in
ipv6_chk_acast_addr(), which walks the global inet6_acaddr_lst[] hash
under RCU and dereferences a struct ifacaddr6 that has already been
freed while still linked in the hash, so a later reader walks into a
dangling node.

In __ipv6_dev_ac_inc() the aca is allocated with refcount 1, then
aca_get() bumps it to 2 to keep it alive across the unlocked region.
It is published to idev->ac_list under idev->lock, but
ipv6_add_acaddr_hash() runs after write_unlock_bh(). A concurrent
teardown (ipv6_ac_destroy_dev() from addrconf_ifdown(), under RTNL)
can slip into that window:

  CPU0 __ipv6_dev_ac_inc           CPU1 ipv6_ac_destroy_dev (RTNL)
  ------------------------------   ------------------------------------
  aca_alloc()              refcnt 1
  aca_get()               refcnt 2
  write_lock_bh(idev->lock)
    add aca to ac_list
  write_unlock_bh(idev->lock)
                                   write_lock_bh(idev->lock)
                                     pull aca off ac_list
                                   write_unlock_bh(idev->lock)
                                   ipv6_del_acaddr_hash(aca)
                                     hlist_del_init_rcu() is a no-op,
                                     aca is not in the hash yet
                                   aca_put()           refcnt 2->1
  ipv6_add_acaddr_hash(aca)
    aca now inserted into the hash
  aca_put()                refcnt 1->0
    call_rcu(aca_free_rcu) -> kfree(aca)

The hash removal becomes a no-op because the insertion has not
happened yet, so once CPU0 inserts and drops the last reference, the
aca is freed while still linked in inet6_acaddr_lst[], and readers
dereference freed memory after the slab slot is reused.

This window opened once RTNL stopped serializing the join path against
device teardown. Move ipv6_add_acaddr_hash() inside the idev->lock
section so the ac_list and hash insertions are atomic with respect to
teardown: a racing remover now either misses the aca entirely or finds
it in both lists.

acaddr_hash_lock is now nested under idev->lock, which is acquired in
softirq context, so switch all acaddr_hash_lock sites to spin_lock_bh()
to avoid the irq lock inversion reported in [2].

[1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=a01df04303c131efbf3a
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/6a194ef7.ba3b1513.1890b4.0000.GAE@google.com/

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53259?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53259?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53259 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53259 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-2026-53259 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53259 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jun 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-2026-53259 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-2026-53259/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53259/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53259
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53259
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53259

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53259/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.