Linux kernel packet fanout use-after-free in packet_release() via NETDEV_UP race
CVE-2026-31504 is a Linux kernel networking vulnerability in AF_PACKET fanout handling. In packet_release(), there is a race window during socket teardown where a concurrent NETDEV_UP notifier can re-register the socket into a fanout group's arr[] array. Before the fix, packet_release() released bind_lock without first zeroing po->num, so po->num remained non-zero and po->ifindex could still match the bound device. If packet_notifier(NETDEV_UP) had already located the socket in sklist, it could re-link the socket. For fanout sockets this path invokes __fanout_link(sk, po), which adds the socket back into the fanout group's f->arr[] and increments f->num_members, but does not increment f->sk_ref. Because fanout_release() does not clean up this re-registration, the fanout array can retain a dangling pointer to a freed socket, resulting in a use-after-free condition. The upstream fix prevents the race by setting po->num to zero while bind_lock is still held in packet_release().
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packet_release() to set po->num to zero while bind_lock is held, preventing NETDEV_UP from re-linking the socket during teardown. Vendor-fixed package versions cited in the provided content include, for example: kernel-default >= 5.14.21-150500.55.166.1 for multiple SLES 15 SP5-related products, >= 6.4.0-150600.23.112.1 for multiple SLES 15 SP6-related products, >= 6.4.0-150700.53.55.1 for SLES 15 SP7-related products, and >= 6.12.0-160000.33.1 for SLES 16.0 / SLE Micro 6.2 / openSUSE Leap 16.0. Reboot after installing the updated kernel.Exploits
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