Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-23074 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-23074 is a use-after-free vulnerability (CWE-416) in the Linux kernel's net/sched subsystem, stemming from a failure to enforce the design intent that the teql (TCP Equalizer) queueing discipline (qdisc) can only be used as a root qdisc. This flaw allows improper handling of queue lengths and class deactivation when teql is attached as a child qdisc under a parent like QFQ, leading to dangling pointer access. The vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions prior to the application of the referenced stable patches and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit this by configuring a root QFQ qdisc with child classes: one using netem to introduce a delay (e.g., 6.4 seconds) and another using teql. Sending a packet to the netem class delays its dequeue, while a subsequent packet enqueued to teql succeeds but does not update the parent's visible queue length (qlen) because teql's peek always returns NULL, preventing dequeue calls. Modifying the teql class's lmax then triggers qfq_change_class, which fails to properly deactivate the class due to the unchanged qlen but frees aggregate pointers anyway. When the delayed netem packet dequeues after the delay, it accesses the dangling pointer, resulting in a use-after-free that could enable kernel memory corruption, denial of service, or potential code execution.
Mitigation involves applying kernel patches that enforce teql usage strictly as a root qdisc, as implemented in the following stable backports: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0686bedfed34155520f3f735cbf3210cb9044380, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/16ed73c1282d376b956bff23e5139add061767ba, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c7e8aa71c9232cba84c289b4b56cba80b280841, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50da4b9d07a7a463e2cfb738f3ad4cff6b2c9c3b, and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73d970ff0eddd874a84c953387c7f4464b705fc6. Security practitioners should update affected Linux distributions and kernels accordingly.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5470
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: Enforce that teql can only be used as root qdisc Design intent of teql is that it is only supposed to be used as root qdisc. We need to…
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check for that constraint. Although not important, I will describe the scenario that unearthed this issue for the curious. GangMin Kim <km.kim1503@gmail.com> managed to concot a scenario as follows: ROOT qdisc 1:0 (QFQ) ├── class 1:1 (weight=15, lmax=16384) netem with delay 6.4s └── class 1:2 (weight=1, lmax=1514) teql GangMin sends a packet which is enqueued to 1:1 (netem). Any invocation of dequeue by QFQ from this class will not return a packet until after 6.4s. In the meantime, a second packet is sent and it lands on 1:2. teql's enqueue will return success and this will activate class 1:2. Main issue is that teql only updates the parent visible qlen (sch->q.qlen) at dequeue. Since QFQ will only call dequeue if peek succeeds (and teql's peek always returns NULL), dequeue will never be called and thus the qlen will remain as 0. With that in mind, when GangMin updates 1:2's lmax value, the qfq_change_class calls qfq_deact_rm_from_agg. Since the child qdisc's qlen was not incremented, qfq fails to deactivate the class, but still frees its pointers from the aggregate. So when the first packet is rescheduled after 6.4 seconds (netem's delay), a dangling pointer is accessed causing GangMin's causing a UAF.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V1.4.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover use-after-free bugs through dynamic analysis or fuzzing.
Engineering principles can require memory-safe constructs or languages that structurally avoid introducing use-after-free.
Process isolation confines the blast radius of use-after-free memory corruption to a single execution domain.
Memory protection controls limit exploitation impact by blocking unauthorized code execution from dangling pointers.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
Lifecycle management includes secure development and maintenance phases that reduce memory-safety defects.
Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.
Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.
Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.
Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.
Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248592 OL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
- V-230279 RHEL 8 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416
RHEL 9 (1 rule)
- V-257794 RHEL 9 must clear memory when it is freed to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-416