CVE-2026-23319: bpf: Fix a UAF issue in bpf_trampoline_link_cgroup_shim

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-03-25 · updated 2026-10-15
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix a UAF issue in bpf_trampoline_link_cgroup_shim The root cause of this bug is that when 'bpf_link_put' reduces the refcount of 'shim_link->link.link' to zero, the resource is considered released but may still be referenced via 'tr->progs_hlist' in 'cgroup_shim_find'. The actual cleanup of 'tr->progs_hlist' in 'bpf_shim_tramp_link_release' is deferred. During this window, another process can cause a use-after-free via 'bpf_trampoline_link_cgroup_shim'. Based on Martin KaFai Lau's suggestions, I have created a simple patch. To fix this: Add an atomic non-zero check in 'bpf_trampoline_link_cgroup_shim'. Only increment the refcount if it is not already zero. Testing: I verified the fix by adding a delay in 'bpf_shim_tramp_link_release' to make the bug easier to trigger: static void bpf_shim_tramp_link_release(struct bpf_link *link) { /* ... */ if (!shim_link->trampoline) return; + msleep(100); WARN_ON_ONCE(bpf_trampoline_unlink_prog(&shim_link->link, shim_link->trampoline, NULL)); bpf_trampoline_put(shim_link->trampoline); } Before the patch, running a PoC easily reproduced the crash(almost 100%) with a call trace similar to KaiyanM's report. After the patch, the bug no longer occurs even after millions of iterations.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.0.1 before 6.1.167; from 6.2 before 6.6.130; from 6.7 before 6.12.77; from 6.13 before 6.18.17; from 6.19 before 6.19.7; 6.0, 7.0-rc1, 7.0-rc2, 7.0-rc3, 7.0-rc4, 7.0-rc5 (+2) — fixed in 6.1.167, 6.12.77, 6.18.17, 6.19.7, 6.6.130

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.167, 6.12.77, 6.18.17, 6.19.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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