CVE-2026-74398 ipv6: addrconf: bail out of dad_failure when state is no longer POSTDAD
A race condition in the Linux kernel IPv6 address configuration allows a local attacker to cause a system crash via a general protection fault.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-74398?
CVE-2026-74398 is a critical 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:
ipv6: addrconf: bail out of dad_failure when state is no longer POSTDAD
addrconf_dad_failure() transitions ifp->state from DAD to POSTDAD via addrconf_dad_end(), which drops ifp->lock on return. The lock is re-acquired after net_info_ratelimited(). A concurrent ipv6_del_addr() can take the lock in that window, set ifp->state to DEAD and run list_del_rcu(&ifp->if_list).
addrconf_dad_failure() then overwrites DEAD with ERRDAD at errdad: and schedules a new dad_work. The work calls ipv6_del_addr() again, hitting the already-poisoned list entry:
general protection fault: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 4 PID: 217 Comm: kworker/4:1 Workqueue: ipv6_addrconf addrconf_dad_work RIP: 0010:ipv6_del_addr+0xe9/0x280 RAX: dead000000000122 Call Trace: addrconf_dad_stop+0x113/0x140 addrconf_dad_work+0x28c/0x430 process_one_work+0x1eb/0x3b0 worker_thread+0x4d/0x400 kthread+0x104/0x140 ret_from_fork+0x35/0x40
Fold the addrconf_dad_end() logic into addrconf_dad_failure() under a single ifp->lock critical section. The STABLE_PRIVACY branch temporarily drops ifp->lock around address regeneration, so at lock_errdad: verify the state is still POSTDAD before transitioning to ERRDAD; bail out otherwise to avoid overwriting a state set by another path while the lock was released.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74398?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74398?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-74398 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74398 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-74398, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74398, GHSA-jvq3-c9fm-53r7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74398.