VulnerabilityPublished 6 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98231: Linux kernel · xfrm: serialize state GC with device state flush

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1, 89fefad9f971bc637fb22373078144f2563c4be9, 84e378395494963b1e581cf223a7cbeec8c0e2d6 +4

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=6.6.44 <6.6.158 >=6.10.3 <6.11	Fixed in 937108dc0258d6ac69926b00bc53598c98986ee1 89fefad9f971bc637fb22373078144f2563c4be9 84e378395494963b1e581cf223a7cbeec8c0e2d6 75fc4561772e2f9811abf39ed10443e6f4a4bc6c 39e41af3653ee45c985190dd97426f318918d201 6.11 6.6.158
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.11	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in Linux kernel versions 6.6.158 and 6.11. Users and administrators should upgrade affected Linux kernel versions to these or later releases to remediate the vulnerability. No additional mitigation steps are indicated beyond applying the official patches.

Description

CVE-2026-98231 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's xfrm subsystem related to state garbage collection and device state flushing. The flaw arises from a race condition where the xfrm_state_dev_gc_lock is dropped before freeing state objects, allowing concurrent destruction and potential access to freed memory. This issue was detected by KASAN and involves improper serialization of state destruction against deferred device passes. The vulnerability affects multiple Linux kernel versions and has been fixed by serializing state destruction with a mutex while limiting the lock scope to list operations.

Impact

The vulnerability allows concurrent destruction of xfrm_state objects, leading to use-after-free conditions that can cause kernel memory corruption or crashes. This can potentially destabilize the system or lead to denial of service. No known exploits in the wild have been reported. The issue affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6.44 up to but not including 6.6.158, versions from 6.10.3 up to but not including 6.11, and version 6.11 itself.

Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel's xfrm subsystem involves a race condition during state garbage collection and device state flushing. The deferred-device pass in xfrm_dev_state_flush() finds states under xfrm_state_dev_gc_lock but drops the lock before calling xfrm_dev_state_free(), which may sleep due to driver callbacks. Because the device GC list does not hold an xfrm_state reference, the state GC worker can concurrently destroy the same state, leading to use-after-free conditions. KASAN detected slab-use-after-free errors triggered by this race. The fix involves serializing xfrm_state destruction against the deferred-device pass with a mutex, retaining the existing callback and device-reference release ordering, and limiting xfrm_state_dev_gc_lock to list operations only.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 12:09 UTC

Technical details

References

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