FKIE_CVE-2026-63803

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-07-19 12:16 - Updated: 2026-07-20 15:16
Severity
7.8 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state Each PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp registers a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the hdlc->state allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree() in both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside attach_hdlc_protocol(). The ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so detach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the kfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(&proto->timer) in ppp_cp_event(), is partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the ->CLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A ppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp->lock) survives the kfree and then dereferences proto->state / ppp->lock in freed memory, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on every per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto->detach(dev) before kfree(hdlc->state), so timer_shutdown_sync() now runs on both free paths. timer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the keepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and shutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown. Initialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is attached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so that the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and ppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list structures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so struct ppp's protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first timer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol without ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync() operating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of ppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the initialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list twice. This bug was found by static analysis.
References
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a84398101bf9f11e84b176343e4e3ba83e668c0
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wan/hdlc_ppp.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5a84398101bf9f11e84b176343e4e3ba83e668c0",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wan/hdlc_ppp.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "2.6.12"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "2.6.12",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "5.15.211",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.1.177",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.6.144",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.95",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.38",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1.3",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2-rc1",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nhdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state\n\nEach PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp\nregisters a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the\nhdlc-\u003estate allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree()\nin both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside\nattach_hdlc_protocol().\n\nThe ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so\ndetach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the\nkfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(\u0026proto-\u003etimer) in ppp_cp_event(),\nis partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the\n-\u003eCLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A\nppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp-\u003elock) survives the\nkfree and then dereferences proto-\u003estate / ppp-\u003elock in freed memory,\nleading to a use-after-free.\n\nFix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on\nevery per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto-\u003edetach(dev)\nbefore kfree(hdlc-\u003estate), so timer_shutdown_sync()\nnow runs on both free paths.\ntimer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the\nkeepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and\nshutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown.\n\nInitialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is\nattached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so\nthat the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and\nppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list\nstructures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so\nstruct ppp\u0027s protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first\ntimer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol\nwithout ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync()\noperating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of\nppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the\ninitialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list\ntwice.\n\nThis bug was found by static analysis."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-63803",
  "lastModified": "2026-07-20T15:16:47.127",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 7.8,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
        "impactScore": 5.9,
        "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-07-19T12:16:52.980",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a84398101bf9f11e84b176343e4e3ba83e668c0"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa"
    },
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
  "vulnStatus": "Received"
}



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