GHSA-M7G4-HQC4-25C8
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-04-03 18:31 – Updated: 2026-04-27 15:30In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/smc: fix NULL dereference and UAF in smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock()
Syzkaller reported a panic in smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() [1].
smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() is called in the TCP receive path (softirq) via icsk_af_ops->syn_recv_sock on the clcsock (TCP listening socket). It reads sk_user_data to get the smc_sock pointer. However, when the SMC listen socket is being closed concurrently, smc_close_active() sets clcsock->sk_user_data to NULL under sk_callback_lock, and then the smc_sock itself can be freed via sock_put() in smc_release().
This leads to two issues:
1) NULL pointer dereference: sk_user_data is NULL when accessed. 2) Use-after-free: sk_user_data is read as non-NULL, but the smc_sock is freed before its fields (e.g., queued_smc_hs, ori_af_ops) are accessed.
The race window looks like this (the syzkaller crash [1] triggers via the SYN cookie path: tcp_get_cookie_sock() -> smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock(), but the normal tcp_check_req() path has the same race):
CPU A (softirq) CPU B (process ctx)
tcp_v4_rcv() TCP_NEW_SYN_RECV: sk = req->rsk_listener sock_hold(sk) / No lock on listener / smc_close_active(): write_lock_bh(cb_lock) sk_user_data = NULL write_unlock_bh(cb_lock) ... smc_clcsock_release() sock_put(smc->sk) x2 -> smc_sock freed! tcp_check_req() smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock(): smc = user_data(sk) -> NULL or dangling smc->queued_smc_hs -> crash!
Note that the clcsock and smc_sock are two independent objects with separate refcounts. TCP stack holds a reference on the clcsock, which keeps it alive, but this does NOT prevent the smc_sock from being freed.
Fix this by using RCU and refcount_inc_not_zero() to safely access smc_sock. Since smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() is called in the TCP three-way handshake path, taking read_lock_bh on sk_callback_lock is too heavy and would not survive a SYN flood attack. Using rcu_read_lock() is much more lightweight.
- Set SOCK_RCU_FREE on the SMC listen socket so that smc_sock freeing is deferred until after the RCU grace period. This guarantees the memory is still valid when accessed inside rcu_read_lock().
- Use rcu_read_lock() to protect reading sk_user_data.
- Use refcount_inc_not_zero(&smc->sk.sk_refcnt) to pin the smc_sock. If the refcount has already reached zero (close path completed), it returns false and we bail out safely.
Note: smc_hs_congested() has a similar lockless read of sk_user_data without rcu_read_lock(), but it only checks for NULL and accesses the global smc_hs_wq, never dereferencing any smc_sock field, so it is not affected.
Reproducer was verified with mdelay injection and smc_run, the issue no longer occurs with this patch applied.
[1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=827ae2bfb3a3529333e9
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-23450"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-04-03T16:16:31Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/smc: fix NULL dereference and UAF in smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock()\n\nSyzkaller reported a panic in smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() [1].\n\nsmc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() is called in the TCP receive path\n(softirq) via icsk_af_ops-\u003esyn_recv_sock on the clcsock (TCP\nlistening socket). It reads sk_user_data to get the smc_sock\npointer. However, when the SMC listen socket is being closed\nconcurrently, smc_close_active() sets clcsock-\u003esk_user_data\nto NULL under sk_callback_lock, and then the smc_sock itself\ncan be freed via sock_put() in smc_release().\n\nThis leads to two issues:\n\n1) NULL pointer dereference: sk_user_data is NULL when\n accessed.\n2) Use-after-free: sk_user_data is read as non-NULL, but the\n smc_sock is freed before its fields (e.g., queued_smc_hs,\n ori_af_ops) are accessed.\n\nThe race window looks like this (the syzkaller crash [1]\ntriggers via the SYN cookie path: tcp_get_cookie_sock() -\u003e\nsmc_tcp_syn_recv_sock(), but the normal tcp_check_req() path\nhas the same race):\n\n CPU A (softirq) CPU B (process ctx)\n\n tcp_v4_rcv()\n TCP_NEW_SYN_RECV:\n sk = req-\u003ersk_listener\n sock_hold(sk)\n /* No lock on listener */\n smc_close_active():\n write_lock_bh(cb_lock)\n sk_user_data = NULL\n write_unlock_bh(cb_lock)\n ...\n smc_clcsock_release()\n sock_put(smc-\u003esk) x2\n -\u003e smc_sock freed!\n tcp_check_req()\n smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock():\n smc = user_data(sk)\n -\u003e NULL or dangling\n smc-\u003equeued_smc_hs\n -\u003e crash!\n\nNote that the clcsock and smc_sock are two independent objects\nwith separate refcounts. TCP stack holds a reference on the\nclcsock, which keeps it alive, but this does NOT prevent the\nsmc_sock from being freed.\n\nFix this by using RCU and refcount_inc_not_zero() to safely\naccess smc_sock. Since smc_tcp_syn_recv_sock() is called in\nthe TCP three-way handshake path, taking read_lock_bh on\nsk_callback_lock is too heavy and would not survive a SYN\nflood attack. Using rcu_read_lock() is much more lightweight.\n\n- Set SOCK_RCU_FREE on the SMC listen socket so that\n smc_sock freeing is deferred until after the RCU grace\n period. This guarantees the memory is still valid when\n accessed inside rcu_read_lock().\n- Use rcu_read_lock() to protect reading sk_user_data.\n- Use refcount_inc_not_zero(\u0026smc-\u003esk.sk_refcnt) to pin the\n smc_sock. If the refcount has already reached zero (close\n path completed), it returns false and we bail out safely.\n\nNote: smc_hs_congested() has a similar lockless read of\nsk_user_data without rcu_read_lock(), but it only checks for\nNULL and accesses the global smc_hs_wq, never dereferencing\nany smc_sock field, so it is not affected.\n\nReproducer was verified with mdelay injection and smc_run,\nthe issue no longer occurs with this patch applied.\n\n[1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=827ae2bfb3a3529333e9",
"id": "GHSA-m7g4-hqc4-25c8",
"modified": "2026-04-27T15:30:31Z",
"published": "2026-04-03T18:31:21Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23450"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e4f873879e075bbd4eb1c644d6933303ac5eba4"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fab5ece76fb42a761178dcd0ebcbf578377b0dd"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d5e4538364b9ceb1ac2941a4deb86650afb3538"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cadf3da46c15523fba90d80c9955f536ee3b4023"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f00fc26c8a06442b225a350fe000c0a11483e6a3"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f315277856caeafcd996c2611afc085ca2d53275"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd7579f0a2c84ba8a7d4f206201b50dc8ddf90c2"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
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