Kernel memory corruption via premature metadata dst free
Published Jun 25, 2026 · Updated Jun 25, 2026
Use-after-free in the Airoha Ethernet driver in Linux Kernel allows remote attackers to corrupt kernel memory through received packets. airoha_metadata_dst_free() calls metadata_dst_free(), immediately freeing an object still referenced by non-refcounted RX packet pointers without waiting for an RCU grace period. Exploitation requires attacker-fed packets to remain in flight while device or driver teardown occurs; packets alone do not initiate teardown, and successful reuse can disclose or alter kernel memory or crash the system.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Airoha Ethernet driver in Linux Kernel allows remote attackers to corrupt kernel memory through received packets. airoha_metadata_dst_free() calls metadata_dst_free(), immediately freeing an object still referenced by non-refcounted RX packet pointers without waiting for an RCU grace period. Exploitation requires attacker-fed packets to remain in flight while device or driver teardown occurs; packets alone do not initiate teardown, and successful reuse can disclose or alter kernel memory or crash the system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-53248
- Published
- Jun 25, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1203
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.15
- Affected versionversion=af3cf757d5c99011b9b94ea8d78aeaccc0153fdc <4b5a574e033e66d2131eff1c18feef8d8643c67e
- Affected versionversion=af3cf757d5c99011b9b94ea8d78aeaccc0153fdc <6f829e2c17a53a35321268339cd252aff6d6d723
- Affected versionversion=af3cf757d5c99011b9b94ea8d78aeaccc0153fdc <b38cae85d1c45ff189d7ecb6ac36f41cdc3d84d0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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