CVE-2026-74662 inet: frags: publish queues before arming timer
A race condition in Linux kernel fragment queue handling can lead to stale hash nodes and potential 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-2026-74662?
CVE-2026-74662 is a critical vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:
inet: frags: publish queues before arming timer
inet_frag_create() arms the fragment queue timer before inserting the queue into the fqdir rhashtable. If the namespace fragment timeout is zero or negative, the timer can run before the queue is published.
The timer callback then marks the queue complete, tries to remove a node that is not in the hash table yet, and drops the anticipated hash reference. Creation can subsequently publish the completed queue without restoring that reference, leaving a stale hash node after the caller drops the remaining reference.
Publish the queue first and arm the timer while holding the queue lock. This makes timer expiry wait until the queue is visible in the hash table, so inet_frag_kill() can remove the node and balance the hash reference.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74662?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74662?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-74662 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74662 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-97239, BELL-CVE-2026-74662, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74662, GHSA-92r4-fqr3-4rrc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74662.