Kernel memory corruption via fragment-queue timer race
Published Aug 22, 2026 · Updated Aug 27, 2026
Race condition in the Linux kernel's IP fragment reassembly code allows remote attackers to corrupt kernel memory via crafted fragments. inet_frag_create() arms a new fragment queue's timer before publishing the queue in the fqdir rhashtable, letting immediate expiry drop a planned hash reference and leave a stale node. When a network namespace's fragment timeout is zero or negative, later lookups can read or write freed memory, execute code in the kernel, or crash the host.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in the Linux kernel's IP fragment reassembly code allows remote attackers to corrupt kernel memory via crafted fragments. inet_frag_create() arms a new fragment queue's timer before publishing the queue in the fqdir rhashtable, letting immediate expiry drop a planned hash reference and leave a stale node. When a network namespace's fragment timeout is zero or negative, later lookups can read or write freed memory, execute code in the kernel, or crash the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74662
- Published
- Aug 22, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-367, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 27, 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=4.17
- Affected versionversion=4.4.174 <4.5
- Affected versionversion=493107105843f299662b3b664a83804645564f12
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <08a04d7bfb9c103432561aff8a62b6872e694a6a
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <39c6c4b267b65f00e0b0335a2ae00cbe9e3174f0
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <4ed0681dc2c1e0538b79d2fc56190ffcb369dacd
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <653d7ddf6cba867777a3d14c4f83ace008c5ad13
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <928128865e43b197e30688dc1bc991592c97edcf
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <9f904dd3e455750e5d4ec9b2f134835811b85a2f
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <d3ffb89b2944672cf7bdd8e9ee577d2043b4a956
- Affected versionversion=648700f76b03b7e8149d13cc2bdb3355035258a9 <f4e4dab62181b7fe7c011bed6fbef9fc3d48c769
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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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