CVE-2026-64525: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: move policy_bydst RCU sync from per-netns .exit to .pre_exit The struct pernet_operations docstring in i
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
xfrm: move policy_bydst RCU sync from per-netns .exit to .pre_exit
The struct pernet_operations docstring in include/net/net_namespace.h
explicitly warns against blocking RCU primitives in .exit handlers:
Exit methods using blocking RCU primitives, such as
synchronize_rcu(), should be implemented via exit_batch.
[...]
Please, avoid synchronize_rcu() at all, where it's possible.
Note that a combination of pre_exit() and exit() can
be used, since a synchronize_rcu() is guaranteed between
the calls.
xfrm_policy_fini() violates this: it calls synchronize_rcu() before
freeing the policy_bydst hash tables (so no RCU reader is mid-
traversal at free time), but runs from xfrm_net_ops.exit -- once per
namespace -- so a cleanup_net() of N namespaces pays N full RCU
grace periods serially.
Use the documented pre_exit/exit split. Move the policy flush (and
the workqueue drains it depends on) into a new .pre_exit handler;
xfrm_policy_fini() then runs in .exit and frees the hash tables
after the synchronize_rcu_expedited() that cleanup_net() guarantees
between the two phases. Providing O(1) RCU grace periods per batch
instead of O(N).
Observed on Linux 6.18 with a workload doing unshare(CLONE_NEWNET)
at ~13/sec sustained: cleanup_net() and the netns_wq rescuer kthread
both stuck in xfrm_policy_fini()'s synchronize_rcu(), >300k struct
net accumulated in the cleanup queue, Percpu in /proc/meminfo climbed
to 130+ GB on 256-CPU hosts, and memcg OOMs followed. setup_net and
__put_net counts were balanced, ruling out a refcount leak.
Details
Original advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64525
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Low exploitation riskCVE-2026-645250.16% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 5% of all scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-64525 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
Recent advisories for In the Linux
A cluster of recent advisories against the same product widens the attack surface — attackers routinely chain freshly published CVEs on one product, so review these together.
- high[NEW] [high] Red Hat Enterprise Linux (librest, pipewire): Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund · 2026-08-04
- medium[NEW] [medium] Red Hat Enterprise Linux (libreswan): Multiple vulnerabilities allow Denial of Servicecert-bund · 2026-08-04
- medium[NEW] [medium] Linux Kernel: Vulnerability allows Denial of Servicecert-bund · 2026-08-04
- high[NEW] [high] Red Hat Enterprise Linux (sssd, glib, c-ares): Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund · 2026-08-04
- medium[NEW] [medium] Red Hat Enterprise Linux (libsolv, aardvark-dns): Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund · 2026-08-04
- medium[NEW] [medium] Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilitiescert-bund · 2026-08-04
More from NVD Recent CVEs
- highCVE-2026-67243: freo2 provided by refirio contains an unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type vulnerab…2026-08-04
- unknownCVE-2026-18759: The background service of ABP or AES runs as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM and implements a file-based i…2026-08-04
- highCVE-2026-18755: A DLL hijacking vulnerability in GeoVision GV-ASManager allows a local attacker with write acc…2026-08-04
- criticalCVE-2026-18754: The product firmware contains an embedded, static RSA private key utilized by the Lighttpd web…2026-08-04
- criticalCVE-2026-18753: The product firmware contains an embedded, static RSA private key utilized by the Lighttpd web…2026-08-04