CVE-2026-74562 nexthop: take nh->lock for f6i_list walks in replace check and notify
A race condition in the Linux kernel nexthop subsystem 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-2026-74562?
CVE-2026-74562 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: take nh->lock for f6i_list walks in replace check and notify
fib6_check_nh_list() and __nexthop_replace_notify() walk nh->f6i_list during an RTNL-serialized nexthop replace without holding nh->lock. IPv6 RTM_NEWROUTE/RTM_DELROUTE run without RTNL and mutate that list under nh->lock (fib6_add_rt2node_nh(), fib6_purge_rt()), so both walks race a concurrent route delete that unlinks and frees a fib6_info:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rt6_fill_node.isra.0 (net/ipv6/route.c:5799) Read of size 4 at addr ffff888014607e64 by task exploit/143 rt6_fill_node.isra.0 (net/ipv6/route.c:5799) fib6_rt_update (net/ipv6/route.c:6412) __nexthop_replace_notify (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2542) rtm_new_nexthop (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2554) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:7076)
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in fib6_check_nh_list (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:1605) Read of size 8 at addr ffff888014a7d068 by task exploit/142 fib6_check_nh_list (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:1605) rtm_new_nexthop (net/ipv4/nexthop.c:2575) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:7076)
Both walks only read the entries and take no tb6_lock, so protect them with nh->lock; fib6_rt_update() uses gfp_any(), which returns GFP_ATOMIC under the lock.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74562?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74562?
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-2026-74562 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74562 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-74562, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74562, GHSA-324p-252x-fjrc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74562.