published September 4, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
xfrm: avoid lock inversion in nat keepalive work
nat_keepalive_work() walks the state table while xfrm_state_walk()
holds net->xfrm.xfrm_state_lock. Its callback then acquires x->lock,
which conflicts with the delete path taking the same locks in reverse
order via xfrm_state_delete() and __xfrm_state_delete(). This creates
an AB-BA deadlock that is reported by lockdep when a NAT keepalive
worker races with SA deletion.
Fix this by splitting the keepalive walk into two phases. First,
collect the candidate states while the walk holds xfrm_state_lock and
take a reference on each state. Then, after the walk completes, process
each collected state and acquire x->lock without nesting it under
xfrm_state_lock.