CVE-2026-68338: net/packet: avoid fanout hook re-registration after unregister

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: 2026-08-10 · updated 2026-10-19
Weakness: CWE-362

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: avoid fanout hook re-registration after unregister packet_set_ring() temporarily detaches a socket from packet delivery while reconfiguring its ring. It records the previous running state, clears po->num, unregisters the protocol hook when needed, drops po->bind_lock, and later restores po->num and re-registers the hook from the saved was_running value. That unlocked window can race with NETDEV_UNREGISTER. The notifier can observe the socket as not running, skip __unregister_prot_hook(), and invalidate the per-socket binding by setting po->ifindex to -1 and clearing po->prot_hook.dev. A one-member fanout group can still retain its shared fanout hook device pointer. When packet_set_ring() resumes, re-registering solely from the stale was_running state can re-add the fanout hook after the device has been unregistered. Treat po->ifindex == -1 as an invalidated binding after reacquiring po->bind_lock. This is distinct from ifindex 0, the normal unbound/wildcard state: ifindex -1 marks an existing device binding that was invalidated when the device was unregistered. Restore po->num as before, but do not re-register the hook if device unregister already detached the socket.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 3.1 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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