CVE-2026-72323 ipv4: igmp: Fix potential UAF in igmp_gq_start_timer()
A race condition in the Linux kernel IGMP handling allows a use-after-free, leading to a kernel panic and denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72323?
CVE-2026-72323 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv4: igmp: Fix potential UAF in igmp_gq_start_timer()
A race condition exists between device teardown (inetdev_destroy) and incoming IGMP query processing (igmp_rcv), leading to a Use-After-Free in the IGMP timer callback.
During device destruction, inetdev_destroy() drops the primary reference to in_device, which can drop its refcount to 0. The actual freeing of in_device memory is deferred via RCU (using call_rcu()).
Concurrently, igmp_rcv() runs under RCU read lock and obtains the in_device pointer. Because the memory is RCU-protected, CPU-0 can safely dereference in_device even if its refcount has hit 0.
However, if CPU-0 calls igmp_gq_start_timer() and re-arms the timer, it attempts to acquire a reference using in_dev_hold(). This increments the refcount from 0 to 1, triggering a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning. Since the in_device memory is still scheduled to be freed after the RCU grace period (as the free callback does not check the refcount again), the device is freed while the timer is still armed. When the timer expires, it accesses the freed memory, causing a kernel panic.
Fix this by using refcount_inc_not_zero() (via a new helper in_dev_hold_safe()) to prevent acquiring a reference if the device is already being destroyed. If the refcount is 0, we do not arm the timer.
A similar issue in IPv6 MLD is fixed in a subsequent patch.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72323?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72323?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-72323 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72323 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72323, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72323, GHSA-ghfh-7xfw-63jp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72323.