CVE-2026-74561 nexthop: avoid unlocked f6i_list walk in nh_rt_cache_flush
A race condition in the Linux kernel nexthop module allows a use-after-free, potentially leading to system crashes or arbitrary code execution.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-74561?
CVE-2026-74561 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:
nexthop: avoid unlocked f6i_list walk in nh_rt_cache_flush
nh_rt_cache_flush() walks nh->f6i_list during an RTNL-serialized nexthop replace without holding nh->lock, racing the unlocked IPv6 route add/delete that mutate the list under nh->lock and free fib6_info entries (nh_rt_cache_flush() is inlined into rtm_new_nexthop()):
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in nh_rt_cache_flush (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2243) Read of size 8 at addr ffff888012953e18 by task exploit/146 nh_rt_cache_flush (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2243) replace_nexthop (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2610) rtm_new_nexthop (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:3323) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:7076)
Unlike the other f6i_list walks, this one bumps each route's sernum via fib6_update_sernum_upto_root(), which needs tb6_lock; taking nh->lock around it would invert the established tb6_lock -> nh->lock order and deadlock. As the only purpose is to invalidate cached dsts, bump the IPv6 sernum for the whole netns with rt_genid_bump_ipv6() instead, mirroring the rt_cache_flush() already done for IPv4 just above.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74561?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74561?
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-2026-74561 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74561 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-74561, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74561, GHSA-x2q4-hjx7-v4h6, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74561.