Freed-memory access via stale XDP program pointer
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Use-after-free in the MANA network driver in Linux 6.18 allows local users to trigger a freed-pointer dereference after a failed XDP attach. mana_xdp_set() publishes a new program pointer before RX-buffer pre-allocation and fails to restore the prior pointer when allocation fails, leaving apc->bpf_prog referencing freed memory. The trigger requires permission to attach an XDP program plus RX-buffer allocation failure; a later interface-up or TX-timeout reset passes the freed pointer to bpf_prog_add(), while no further impact is established.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the MANA network driver in Linux 6.18 allows local users to trigger a freed-pointer dereference after a failed XDP attach. mana_xdp_set() publishes a new program pointer before RX-buffer pre-allocation and fails to restore the prior pointer when allocation fails, leaving apc->bpf_prog referencing freed memory. The trigger requires permission to attach an XDP program plus RX-buffer allocation failure; a later interface-up or TX-timeout reset passes the freed pointer to bpf_prog_add(), while no further impact is established.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97955
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 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=6.18
- Affected versionversion=730ff06d3f5cc2ce0348414b78c10528b767d4a3 <4c46beb807efcc93f5899ebe1f5958248eb296c6
- Affected versionversion=730ff06d3f5cc2ce0348414b78c10528b767d4a3 <5b3cdc9abd82b7e49e0f1a21d6eb75466c5ecef8
- Affected versionversion=730ff06d3f5cc2ce0348414b78c10528b767d4a3 <9801edfba8dfcdb1da3b0afccdf143e13d646b56
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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