# 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.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-97239, BELL-CVE-2026-74662, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74662, GHSA-92r4-fqr3-4rrc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74662

## 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.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74662 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74662 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74662/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74662/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74662
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74662
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74662

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74662/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.