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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-63803: Linux kernel · hdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 2% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CISA SSVC
Exploitation
No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable
Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact
Total control over the software or total information disclosure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch
Available – fixed in ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36, c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa, c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8 +5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 19 Jul 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36
Fixed in
  • ce8f9ddca0c9f217342a8b49efd309aa35b81a36
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa
Fixed in
  • c78a4e41ab5ead6193ad8a2dd92e8906bae659fa
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8
Fixed in
  • c64dbef1c0fbd36f9530aa75112acdf6a6d3cfd8
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f
Fixed in
  • a594debfd4e7ec39413647458907f689ef57fd2f
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545
Fixed in
  • 8308122bc9c065b1f376e081ed300129a2ac9545
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, < 508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a
Fixed in
  • 508a0139d3bf60f6a03d2fbfb63a89a9463d983a

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hdlc_ppp: sync per-proto timers before freeing hdlc state Each PPP control protocol (LCP/IPCP/IPV6CP) embedded in struct ppp registers a timer via timer_setup(). That struct ppp is the hdlc->state allocation, which detach_hdlc_protocol() frees with kfree() in both teardown paths: unregister_hdlc_device() and the re-attach inside attach_hdlc_protocol(). The ppp proto never registered a .detach callback, so detach_hdlc_protocol() performs no timer synchronization before the kfree(). The only cancel, timer_delete(&proto->timer) in ppp_cp_event(), is partial (it does not wait for a running callback) and only runs on the ->CLOSED transition; ppp_stop()/ppp_close() do not sync either. A ppp_timer callback already executing (blocked on ppp->lock) survives the kfree and then dereferences proto->state / ppp->lock in freed memory, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by adding a .detach helper that calls timer_shutdown_sync() on every per-proto timer. detach_hdlc_protocol() invokes proto->detach(dev) before kfree(hdlc->state), so timer_shutdown_sync() now runs on both free paths. timer_shutdown_sync() is used instead of timer_delete_sync() because the keepalive path re-arms the timer through add_timer()/mod_timer() and shutdown blocks any re-activation during teardown. Initialize the per-protocol timers in ppp_ioctl() when the protocol is attached, and remove the now-redundant timer_setup() from ppp_start(), so that the timers are initialized exactly once at attach time and ppp_timer_release() never operates on uninitialized timer_list structures. attach_hdlc_protocol() uses kmalloc() (not kzalloc), so struct ppp's protos[i].timer is uninitialized garbage until the first timer_setup(); without this init-at-attach, attaching the PPP protocol without ever bringing the device up would leave timer_shutdown_sync() operating on uninitialized memory in .detach. Moving the init out of ppp_start() (which only runs on NETDEV_UP) into the attach path makes the initialization unconditional and avoids initializing the same timer_list twice. This bug was found by static analysis.

References

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