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CVE-2026-23255 Not scored

net: add proper RCU protection to /proc/net/ptype

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: add proper RCU protection to /proc/net/ptype Yin Fengwei reported an RCU stall in ptype_seq_show() and provided a patch. Real issue is that ptype_seq_next() and ptype_seq_show() violate RCU rules. ptype_seq_show() runs under rcu_read_lock(), and reads pt->dev to get device name without any barrier. At the same time, concurrent writers can remove a packet_type structure (which is correctly freed after an RCU grace period) and clear pt->dev without an RCU grace period. Define ptype_iter_state to carry a dev pointer along seq_net_private: struct ptype_iter_state { struct seq_net_private p; struct net_device *dev; // added in this patch }; We need to record the device pointer in ptype_get_idx() and ptype_seq_next() so that ptype_seq_show() is safe against concurrent pt->dev changes. We also need to add full RCU protection in ptype_seq_next(). (Missing READ_ONCE() when reading list.next values) Many thanks to Dong Chenchen for providing a repro.

Exploit probability 0.1%
Published March 18, 2026
Required by Not available
Last source change July 15, 2026

02 / AFFECTED SOFTWARE

Affected packages

Linux Kernel
Unknown Unknown

1295 explicit affected versions

03 / CONNECTIONS

Connected vulnerabilities

related OPENSUSE-SU-2026:20572-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:1573-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:1661-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21114-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21123-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21237-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21255-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21352-1
related SUSE-SU-2026:21361-1

04 / EVIDENCE

Source records

Open Source Vulnerabilities CVE-2026-23255

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: add proper RCU protection to /proc/net/ptype Yin Fengwei reported an RCU stall in ptype_seq_show() and provided a patch. Real issue is that ptype_seq_next() and ptype_seq_show() violate RCU rules. ptype_seq_show() runs under rcu_read_lock(), and reads pt->dev to get device name without any barrier. At the same time, concurrent writers can remove a packet_type structure (which is correctly freed after an RCU grace period) and clear pt->dev without an RCU grace period. Define ptype_iter_state to carry a dev pointer along seq_net_private: struct ptype_iter_state { struct seq_net_private p; struct net_device *dev; // added in this patch }; We need to record the device pointer in ptype_get_idx() and ptype_seq_next() so that ptype_seq_show() is safe against concurrent pt->dev changes. We also need to add full RCU protection in ptype_seq_next(). (Missing READ_ONCE() when reading list.next values) Many thanks to Dong Chenchen for providing a repro.

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05 / REFERENCES

Further evidence