CVE-2026-98253 RDMA/ucma: Serialize join and leave on copy_to_user failure
A race condition in the Linux kernel RDMA subsystem allows a use-after-free, potentially enabling local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.
- 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-2026-98253?
CVE-2026-98253 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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:
RDMA/ucma: Serialize join and leave on copy_to_user failure
rdma_join_multicast() queues RoCE work that later reads the ucma_multicast through event->param.ud.private_data, then list_add()s the CMA multicast at the head of id_priv->mc_list. rdma_leave_multicast() matches only by sockaddr and destroys the first hit.
ucma_process_join() used to drop ctx->mutex after a successful join and retake it only if copy_to_user() failed. Two concurrent JOIN_MCAST calls with the same address can therefore insert a second CMA entry before the first thread's leave. leave then cancels the newer work and the older worker still dereferences the ucma_multicast that the first thread frees.
Keep ctx->mutex held from rdma_join_multicast() through copy_to_user() and, on -EFAULT, through rdma_leave_multicast() so leave cannot miss this join. Do not leave if join itself failed: that path never published this address on mc_list, and a leave-by-addr would destroy an earlier successful join.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98253?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98253?
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-2026-98253 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98253 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-106368, BELL-CVE-2026-98253, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98253, GHSA-6rqw-4vwj-ww2r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98253.