Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2026-31504

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: fix fanout UAF in packet_release() via NETDEV_UP race `packet_release()` has a race window where `NETDEV_UP` can re-register a socket into a fanout group's `arr[]` array. The re-registration is not cleaned up by `fanout_release()`, leaving a dangling pointer in the fanout array. `packet_release()` does NOT zero `po->num` in its `bind_lock` section. After releasing `bind_lock`, `po->num` is still non-zero and `po->ifindex` still matches the bound device. A concurrent `packet_notifier(NETDEV_UP)` that already found the socket in `sklist` can re-register the hook. For fanout sockets, this re-registration calls `__fanout_link(sk, po)` which adds the socket back into `f->arr[]` and increments `f->num_members`, but does NOT increment `f->sk_ref`. The fix sets `po->num` to zero in `packet_release` while `bind_lock` is held to prevent NETDEV_UP from linking, preventing the race window. This bug was found following an additional audit with Claude Code based on CVE-2025-38617.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2026-04-22 · last modified 2026-07-14.