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CVE-2026-74512: audit: fix potential use-after-free in audit_del_rule()

• 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: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-10-16

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: fix potential use-after-free in audit_del_rule() `audit_del_rule()` destroys `e->rule.exe` via `audit_remove_mark_rule()` before unlinking the rule from RCU-visible filter lists and waiting for a grace period. Concurrent readers in `audit_filter()` and `audit_filter_rules()` still dereference `e->rule.exe`, while the fsnotify mark can be freed on an independent lifetime path. This creates a use-after-free window during rule deletion. Fix this by unlinking the rule from the RCU-visible lists and invoking `synchronize_rcu()` before calling `audit_remove_mark_rule()` (and other rule removal helpers). This ensures that all existing RCU readers have exited the critical section before any underlying resources are destroyed.

Affected products

• Linux kernel: 4.3 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

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

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/246df90b5f1a8a6e6abbd2f058b029558720adec
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f82927b399d7a276c0c12b6ff4424b747a0c9a7
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45bf3df5b32e5a49953e7ceabc55f7dd85380e46
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b8f46864f06d6dbacb7dcea52bc084dfd122638
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/78bde7e9bd36eaae1b8e8cfcd47f12a34f301dbf
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ae135a8962be9d4e8a131eb18eb06cdf02a47ce
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93616c567469510b7bba55b2674e0c4523fd7e64
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cae0dfed5d307b240bff71c3cf206652d1b6f215

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