net: openvswitch: fix flow mask use-after-free on flow deletion
Why It Matters
Analysis dossierWhy It Matters
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix flow mask use-after-free on flow deletion The commit in the Fixes tag below made so flow->mask free is scheduled via RCU right after it is removed from the flow table. The pointer stays in the flow structure and it can be accessible while in the same RCU critical section. This is done to avoid requiring ovs_mutex for the ovs_flow_free(). However, while removing the flow during processing of CMD_DEL, we do not take RCU read lock before the removal, and ovs_flow_cmd_fill_info() uses the flow->mask pointer afterwards. The RCU read lock is taken, but it's already late at that point. The comment on that line acknowledges that the lock is cosmetic and doesn't serve a real purpose. This leads to use-after-free if the RCU grace period passes between removal and the filling. It is a short race window, but it is there and can lead to a real crash in case memory allocation for the info takes a bit longer: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __ovs_nla_put_key net/openvswitch/flow_netlink.c:1996 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ovs_nla_put_key+0x2463/0x2e30 net/openvswitch/flow_netlink.c:2250 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88801ee89970 by task ovs_flow_del_ec/9487 Call Trace: __ovs_nla_put_key net/openvswitch/flow_netlink.c:1996 ovs_nla_put_key+0x2463/0x2e30 net/openvswitch/flow_netlink.c:2250 ovs_flow_cmd_fill_info+0x420/0x9c0 net/openvswitch/datapath.c:930 ovs_flow_cmd_del+0x53a/0x970 net/openvswitch/datapath.c:1467 ... netlink_rcv_skb+0x156/0x420 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2556 Allocated by task 9487: mask_alloc net/openvswitch/flow_table.c:967 flow_mask_insert net/openvswitch/flow_table.c:1012 ovs_flow_tbl_insert+0xea2/0x1a90 net/openvswitch/flow_table.c:1084 ovs_flow_cmd_new+0x7e3/0xd90 net/openvswitch/datapath.c:1086 ... netlink_rcv_skb+0x156/0x420 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2556 Freed by task 9485: rcu_free_sheaf+0x1e/0x100 mm/slub.c:5978 rcu_do_batch kernel/rcu/tree.c:2645 rcu_core+0x59c/0x10c0 kernel/rcu/tree.c:2897 handle_softirqs+0x1e4/0x9a0 kernel/softirq.c:622 ... instr_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1062 ovs_flow_tbl_remove() must be called after the ovs_flow_cmd_fill_info() to avoid this race. This also helps with cleaning up the forced cast and the cosmetic RCU read lock. Before the commit in the Fixes tag the order did not matter as long as the flow object itself was not freed. A wider RCU critical section could be another option, but we have a GFP_KERNEL allocation in the way. Reported by Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative as ZDI-CAN-32042.
High
Unknown
Unknown
Risk basis: SOC ecosystem technology relevance; HIGH severity; No confirmed exploitation signal in current enrichment
Affected Products & Remediation
2 source-backed productsVendor or catalog guidance (source)
- Microsoft MSRC: Release Notes
Known exploitation (source facts)
Only what a source states. Unknown means no source has said either way; it is not "not exploited".
- CISA KEV
- Unknown
- Exploited (source statement)
- Unknown
- Publicly disclosed (source)
- Unknown
Suggested hunting (rule-based inference)
SecOps Signal recommendation (rule-based inference). These steps are hunting hypotheses from the vulnerability class; they do not state or imply that exploitation occurred here or anywhere.
No rule-based guidance for this vulnerability class
CISA KEV Record
CISA KEV status was not determined for this record.
Change History & Source Data
— No recorded material change
- CNA / source
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- Record status · verification
- UPDATED · NVD API
- CPE
- Unknown
Evidence & Provenance
Linked by the query's stored exact CVE association. Review required tables and validation status before use.
DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities| where CveId == "CVE-2026-80994"| project DeviceId, DeviceName, OSPlatform, OSVersion, SoftwareVendor, SoftwareName, SoftwareVersion, CveId, VulnerabilitySeverityLevel, RecommendedSecurityUpdate, RecommendedSecurityUpdateId| sort by VulnerabilitySeverityLevel desc