High [CVE-2026-74609] read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-74609 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down() tipc_node_link_down() caches the link pointer before taking n->lock: struct tipc_link *l = le->link;/* unlocked */ if (!l) return; tipc_node_write_lock(n); if (!tipc_link_is_establishing(l)) {/* deref l */... tipc_link_reset(l);/* write into l */ if (delete) { kfree(l); le->link = NULL; The delete=true caller frees that very object under n->lock, so the lock does not protect the cached pointer against it: - CPU A, delete=false: tipc_rcv() on TIPC_LINK_DOWN_EVT, or the link supervision timer via tipc_node_timeout(), reads l unlocked and then dereferences it under n->lock; - CPU B, delete=true: netlink TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE -> bearer_disable() -> tipc_node_delete_links() -> tipc_node_link_down(n, bearer_id, true) -> kfree(l).
The link is freed with plain kfree(), not kfree_rcu(), and for UDP bearers disable_media() only schedules the asynchronous cleanup_bearer() work, so its synchronize_net() runs after the links are already gone.
An in-flight CPU A that has read l therefore dereferences freed memory once B frees it: a use-after-free read in tipc_link_is_establishing(), and a use-after-free write via tipc_link_reset() on the establishing branch.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 42 minutes ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 42 minutes ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 42 minutes ago·verify at source
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