CVE-2026-74563 rds: tcp: hold the RCU lock across ipv6_chk_addr() in rds_tcp_laddr_check()
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel RDS TCP module allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via a race condition.
- 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-2026-74563?
CVE-2026-74563 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:
rds: tcp: hold the RCU lock across ipv6_chk_addr() in rds_tcp_laddr_check()
rds_tcp_laddr_check() looks up a scoped IPv6 interface with dev_get_by_index_rcu(), drops the RCU read-side lock, and only then passes the bare struct net_device * into ipv6_chk_addr().
dev_get_by_index_rcu() only keeps the device alive within the same RCU read-side section. After rcu_read_unlock(), a concurrent RTM_DELLINK can free the net_device; ipv6_chk_addr() then dereferences the stale pointer in __ipv6_chk_addr_and_flags() (e.g. l3mdev_master_dev_rcu(dev)), reading freed memory.
Keep the RCU read-side lock held across the ipv6_chk_addr() call instead of dropping it right after the lookup, so the device cannot be freed while it is in use.
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __ipv6_chk_addr_and_flags (... net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1998) Read of size 8 at addr ffff8880106ec000 by task exploit/153 Call Trace: ... kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:595) __ipv6_chk_addr_and_flags (... net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1998) ipv6_chk_addr (net/ipv6/addrconf.c:2031 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1972) rds_tcp_laddr_check (net/rds/tcp.c:370) rds_bind (net/rds/bind.c:248) __sys_bind (net/socket.c:1920) __x64_sys_bind (net/socket.c:1956) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:121)
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74563?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74563?
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-2026-74563 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74563 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-96222, BELL-CVE-2026-74563, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74563, GHSA-29x7-mv82-cj8r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74563.