Local kernel use-after-free via timestamp flag race
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
A socket flag race in Linux allows local users to trigger a UDP socket use-after-free through concurrent timestamp ioctl and bind calls. In sock_gettstamp(), an unlocked, non-atomic update to sk_flags can erase SOCK_RCU_FREE, causing sk_destruct() to free a socket still visible to lockless UDP receive lookups. The trigger requires local socket access and a concurrent receive path; the published report demonstrates an invalid kernel read, not privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
A socket flag race in Linux allows local users to trigger a UDP socket use-after-free through concurrent timestamp ioctl and bind calls. In sock_gettstamp(), an unlocked, non-atomic update to sk_flags can erase SOCK_RCU_FREE, causing sk_destruct() to free a socket still visible to lockless UDP receive lookups. The trigger requires local socket access and a concurrent receive path; the published report demonstrates an invalid kernel read, not privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98276
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 6, 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <17b2a1eb97fdb2a2cbaeab3b146b26797ea9311f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <18899e2e4023369a8f7739c2255a59a9748d8d17
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1f73253add8365d0dad0a4f421acaa8c21d20cef
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3b12d3967e96f1b7b977d9fc352ae29a1b299a82
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <88c804847dd87dc613b771b392ccecdb94725032
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <899650bbf985b7bfd2a7b808357df9b16e6d6959
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9ed55f3dbef4f4adfe65eb03b0c35c53229a8490
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d9f96bc2d822501f84d1caa6275a2c6b316ca2c4
- Affected versionversion=2.6.12
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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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