CVE-2026-53011: net/sched: taprio: fix use-after-free in advance_sched() on schedule switch

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: 2026-06-24 · updated 2026-10-19
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: taprio: fix use-after-free in advance_sched() on schedule switch In advance_sched(), when should_change_schedules() returns true, switch_schedules() is called to promote the admin schedule to oper. switch_schedules() queues the old oper schedule for RCU freeing via call_rcu(), but 'next' still points into an entry of the old oper schedule. The subsequent 'next->end_time = end_time' and rcu_assign_pointer(q->current_entry, next) are use-after-free. Fix this by selecting 'next' from the new oper schedule immediately after switch_schedules(), and using its pre-calculated end_time. setup_first_end_time() sets the first entry's end_time to base_time + interval when the schedule is installed, so the value is already correct. The deleted 'end_time = sched_base_time(admin)' assignment was also harmful independently: it would overwrite the new first entry's pre-calculated end_time with just base_time.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.2 before 5.10.258; from 5.11 before 5.15.209; from 5.16 before 6.1.175; from 6.2 before 6.6.141; from 6.7 before 6.12.91; from 6.13 before 6.18.33 — fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 6.6.141

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.12.91. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2026-53011 or the next vulnerability affects your stack