In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netpoll: fix a use-after-free on shutdown path
There is a use-after-free error on netpoll, which is clearly detected by
KASAN.
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x3b/0x80
Read of size 1 at addr ... by task kworker/9:1
Workqueue: events queue_process
Call Trace:
skb_dequeue+0x1e/0xb0
queue_process+0x2c/0x600
process_scheduled_works+0x4b6/0x850
worker_thread+0x414/0x5a0
Allocated by task 242:
__netpoll_setup+0x201/0x4a0
netpoll_setup+0x249/0x550
enabled_store+0x32f/0x380
Freed by task 0:
kfree+0x1b7/0x540
rcu_core+0x3f8/0x7a0
The problem happens when there is a pending TX worker running in
parallel with the cleanup path.
This is what happens on netpoll shutdown path:
1) __netpoll_cleanup() is called
2) set dev->npinfo to NULL
3) call_rcu() with rcu_cleanup_netpoll_info()
3.1) rcu_cleanup_netpoll_info() tries to cancel all workers with
cancel_delayed_work(), but doesn't wait for the worker to finish
4) and kfree(npinfo);
Because 3.1) doesn't really cancel the work, as the comment says "we
can't call cancel_delayed_work_sync here, as we are in softirq", the TX
worker can run after 4).
Tl;DR: queue_process() is not an RCU reader, it reaches npinfo through
the work item via container_of().
Use disable_delayed_work_sync() to ensure the worker is completely
stopped and prevent any future re-arming attempts. Once npinfo is set
to NULL, senders will bail out and not queue new work. The disable flag
ensures any in-flight re-arming attempts also fail silently.
In the future, we can do the cleanup inline here without needing the
npinfo->rcu rcu_head, but that is net-next material.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.1% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-12). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it