Kernel crash via duplicate socket cleanup
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
NULL dereference in Linux 6.10 PFCP socket cleanup allows local users to crash the kernel via failed network-device registration. After pfcp_dev_uninit() releases the socket and clears pfcp->sk, the pfcp_newlink() error path passes the cleared pointer to udp_tunnel_sock_release() again. Reachability requires PFCP support, CAP_NET_ADMIN in the relevant network namespace, and registration failure after device initialization; the reported crash was observed with allocation fault injection.
Summary
What happened
NULL dereference in Linux 6.10 PFCP socket cleanup allows local users to crash the kernel via failed network-device registration. After pfcp_dev_uninit() releases the socket and clears pfcp->sk, the pfcp_newlink() error path passes the cleared pointer to udp_tunnel_sock_release() again. Reachability requires PFCP support, CAP_NET_ADMIN in the relevant network namespace, and registration failure after device initialization; the reported crash was observed with allocation fault injection.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98849
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=6.10
- Affected versionversion=76c8764ef36a5d37ea2e551bda28ac7f028383ba <0f17d2e3dd9cda3ee6d94033d5e5489af168920d
- Affected versionversion=76c8764ef36a5d37ea2e551bda28ac7f028383ba <2cee3603ec1d9b5ec7f2121ea3efe9488e906f46
- Affected versionversion=76c8764ef36a5d37ea2e551bda28ac7f028383ba <4b8ce1686dea1a10805a0807bf492409b0300ee1
- Affected versionversion=76c8764ef36a5d37ea2e551bda28ac7f028383ba <dcb8f6a79c3360a440c399d85df465a6e59351f1
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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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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