High · published September 25, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: cttimeout: prevent UAF during module unload
nf_ct_set_timeout() protects the timeout hook dereference and policy lookup
with rcu_read_lock(). cttimeout_exit(), however, unregisters the per-net
operations before it clears the hook.
This allows the following interleaving:
CPU 0 CPU 1
cttimeout_exit() nf_ct_set_timeout()
unregister_pernet_subsys() rcu_read_lock()
kfree(pernet) h = nf_ct_timeout_hook
h->timeout_find_get()
nfct_timeout_pernet()
The hook still points to ctnl_timeout_find_get() when CPU 1 looks up the
already freed per-net timeout list. KASAN reported:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ctnl_timeout_find_get
Read of size 8 by task poc/90
Call Trace:
ctnl_timeout_find_get+0x271/0x2a0 [nfnetlink_cttimeout]
nf_ct_set_timeout+0x7b/0x3c0
xt_ct_tg_check+0x724/0xb20
xt_check_target+0x234/0xa90
do_ipt_set_ctl+0x570/0x1270
Allocated by task 89:
__kmalloc_noprof+0x16e/0x460
ops_init+0x6d/0x420
register_pernet_operations+0x2f6/0x670
Freed by task 91:
kfree+0x131/0x390
ops_undo_list+0x3d4/0x730
unregister_pernet_operations+0x232/0x490
unregister_pernet_subsys+0x1c/0x30
cttimeout_exit+0x52/0x970 [nfnetlink_cttimeout]
Clear the hook and wait for existing readers before unregistering the
per-net operations. This blocks new policy lookups and ensures readers that
observed the hook finish before the per-net storage is freed.