Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
hwrng: core - use RCU and work_struct to fix race condition
Currently, hwrng_fill is not cleared until the hwrng_fillfn() thread
exits. Since hwrng_unregister() reads hwrng_fill outside the rng_mutex
lock, a concurrent hwrng_unregister() may call kthread_stop() again on
the same task.
Additionally, if hwrng_unregister() is called immediately after
hwrng_register(), the stopped thread may have never been executed. Thus,
hwrng_fill remains dirty even after hwrng_unregister() returns. In this
case, subsequent calls to hwrng_register() will fail to start new
threads, and hwrng_unregister() will call kthread_stop() on the same
freed task. In both cases, a use-after-free occurs:
refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free.
WARNING: ... at lib/refcount.c:25 refcount_warn_saturate+0xec/0x1c0
Call Trace:
kthread_stop+0x181/0x360
hwrng_unregister+0x288/0x380
virtrng_remove+0xe3/0x200
This patch fixes the race by protecting the global hwrng_fill pointer
inside the rng_mutex lock, so that hwrng_fillfn() thread is stopped only
once, and calls to kthread_run() and kthread_stop() are serialized
with the lock held.
To avoid deadlock in hwrng_fillfn() while being stopped with the lock
held, we convert current_rng to RCU, so that get_current_rng() can read
current_rng without holding the lock. To remove the lock from put_rng(),
we also delay the actual cleanup into a work_struct.
Since get_current_rng() no longer returns ERR_PTR values, the IS_ERR()
checks are removed from its callers.
With hwrng_fill protected by the rng_mutex lock, hwrng_fillfn() can no
longer clear hwrng_fill itself. Therefore, if hwrng_fillfn() returns
directly after current_rng is dropped, kthread_stop() would be called on
a freed task_struct later. To fix this, hwrng_fillfn() calls schedule()
now to keep the task alive until being stopped. The kthread_stop() call
is also moved from hwrng_unregister() to drop_current_rng(), ensuring
kthread_stop() is called on all possible paths where current_rng becomes
NULL, so that the thread would not wait forever.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 3.17 | 6.1.191 |
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 | 6.18.14-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.85-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 22.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux +44 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux +59 | No fix yet | — |
Show 18 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime +2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS 20.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS 18.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS 16.04 LTS | linux-fips | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 18.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 16.04 LTS | linux-fips | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-preview 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | linux +21 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | linux +12 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | linux +7 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | linux-aws +2 | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.12.77-99.140 +1 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1543, ALAS2023-2026-1514 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.12 +14 | 1:6.12.77-99.140.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1543 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +14 | 1:6.18.15-14.217.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1514 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | No fix yet | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-204.92.4.2.el10uek | ELSA-2026-50372 |
Advisories 4
- WID-SEC-2026-1700 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- ELSA-2026-50372 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 2, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1514 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 16, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1543 Important: kernel6.12 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 16, 2026
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d60bd663b746f17fc01fdc44dd01642594176344
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1cde96d5d53b9105b48617afbc4682a83db4ff04
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5b7730f06994499632026c30e38e0317c4569e2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcf416eb88eafe1e3c0f920a14bdffd10bc4d259
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ad38f2cdfef9a2f2899c30cad269baec5bfd4a5d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc2f39d6ac48e6e3cb2d6240bc0d6df839dd0828