Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_tables: do not defer rule destruction via call_rcu
nf_tables_chain_destroy can sleep, it can't be used from call_rcu
callbacks.
Moreover, nf_tables_rule_release() is only safe for error unwinding,
while transaction mutex is held and the to-be-desroyed rule was not
exposed to either dataplane or dumps, as it deactives+frees without
the required synchronize_rcu() in-between.
nft_rule_expr_deactivate() callbacks will change ->use counters
of other chains/sets, see e.g. nft_lookup .deactivate callback, these
must be serialized via transaction mutex.
Also add a few lockdep asserts to make this more explicit.
Calling synchronize_rcu() isn't ideal, but fixing this without is hard
and way more intrusive. As-is, we can get:
WARNING: .. net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c:5515 nft_set_destroy+0x..
Workqueue: events nf_tables_trans_destroy_work
RIP: 0010:nft_set_destroy+0x3fe/0x5c0
Call Trace:
<TASK>
nf_tables_trans_destroy_work+0x6b7/0xad0
process_one_work+0x64a/0xce0
worker_thread+0x613/0x10d0
In case the synchronize_rcu becomes an issue, we can explore alternatives.
One way would be to allocate nft_trans_rule objects + one nft_trans_chain
object, deactivate the rules + the chain and then defer the freeing to the
nft destroy workqueue. We'd still need to keep the synchronize_rcu path as
a fallback to handle -ENOMEM corner cases though.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.6.61 – < 6.6.67, 6.11.8 – < 6.12, 6.12 | 6.6.67 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.12.6-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.6-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | 6.11.0-21.21~24.04.1 | USN-7379-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | 6.11.0-1011.12~24.04.1 | USN-7381-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | 6.11.0-1017.17 | USN-7382-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | 6.6.76.1-1 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-101.33.4.3.el10uek | ELSA-2025-20530, ELSA-2025-20480 |
| Oracle Linux 8 | bpftool +18 | 5.15.0-310.184.5.2.el9uek | ELSA-2025-20470 |
| Oracle Linux 7 | kernel-uek +6 | 5.4.17-2136.346.6.el8uek | ELSA-2025-20521 |
| Oracle Linux 7 | kernel-uek-tools | 5.4.17-2136.346.6.el7uek | ELSA-2025-20521 |
Advisories 8
- WID-SEC-2024-3762 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 10, 2026
- USN-7379-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-azure, linux-gcp, linux-hwe-6.11, linux-oracle, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 29, 2026
- USN-7382-1 linux-oem-6.11 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 29, 2026
- USN-7381-1 linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 3, 2026
- ELSA-2025-20530 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 18, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20521 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 7) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 10, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20480 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 17, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20470 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 8) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 14, 2025
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5146c27b2780aac59876a887a5f4e793b8949862
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2991dc357a28b61c13ed1f7b59e9251e2b4562fb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8d8f53e1858178882b881b8c09f94ef0e83bf76
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0f013bebf94fe7ae75e5a53be2f2bd1cc1841e3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27f0574253f6c24c8ee4e3f0a685b75ed3a256ed
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7cf0bd232b565d9852cb25fd094f77254773e048
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b04df3da1b5c6f6dc7cdccc37941740c078c4043