CVE-2026-23449
Published: 03 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-23449 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) 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 4.9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-7 (Least Functionality) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2026-23449 is a double-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's net/sched subsystem, specifically in the teql_master_xmit function of the TEQL (Traffic Equalizer) queue discipline (qdisc). The issue arises when a TEQL device has a lockless qdisc as its root, leading to a race condition during qdisc_reset operations. Without proper use of the seq_lock, the reset races with the datapath, resulting in a double-free of socket buffer (skb) data, as detected by KASAN in kernel crash logs. This affects Linux kernels supporting TEQL configurations, with exploitation demonstrated in kernels like 7.0.0-rc3.
Local attackers with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability with low complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction (UI:N), as indicated by its CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Exploitation involves configuring a TEQL device and triggering qdisc operations via tc commands, such as tc_get_qdisc, which leads to teql_destroy and improper qdisc_reset calls. Attackers can achieve kernel crashes via use-after-free or double-free, potentially enabling denial of service or further privilege escalation through memory corruption, as shown in a proof-of-concept named poc_teql_uaf_ke that triggers the KASAN-reported double-free.
Mitigation patches are available in Linux kernel stable releases via the referenced commits: 21c89a0a8de7eadad8d385645a95b3233f23130e, 4a233447b941db451ea5f5a0942cffd0f7f7eaae, 4e8ebc4c18ea8213d28e6cb867d18fcc67daca21, 66360460cab63c248ca5b1070a01c0c29133b960, and afbc79a7770b230a9f24bd39271209d6b3682c5f. Security practitioners should update affected systems to kernels incorporating these fixes to ensure proper seq_lock usage during qdisc_reset in TEQL devices.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-18698
Vulnerability details
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: teql: Fix double-free in teql_master_xmit Whenever a TEQL devices has a lockless Qdisc as root, qdisc_reset should be called using the seq_lock to avoid racing with the datapath. Failure…
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to do so may cause crashes like the following: [ 238.028993][ T318] BUG: KASAN: double-free in skb_release_data (net/core/skbuff.c:1139) [ 238.029328][ T318] Free of addr ffff88810c67ec00 by task poc_teql_uaf_ke/318 [ 238.029749][ T318] [ 238.029900][ T318] CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 318 Comm: poc_teql_ke Not tainted 7.0.0-rc3-00149-ge5b31d988a41 #704 PREEMPT(full) [ 238.029906][ T318] Hardware name: Bochs Bochs, BIOS Bochs 01/01/2011 [ 238.029910][ T318] Call Trace: [ 238.029913][ T318] <TASK> [ 238.029916][ T318] dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:122) [ 238.029928][ T318] print_report (mm/kasan/report.c:379 mm/kasan/report.c:482) [ 238.029940][ T318] ? skb_release_data (net/core/skbuff.c:1139) [ 238.029944][ T318] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) ... [ 238.029957][ T318] ? skb_release_data (net/core/skbuff.c:1139) [ 238.029969][ T318] kasan_report_invalid_free (mm/kasan/report.c:221 mm/kasan/report.c:563) [ 238.029979][ T318] ? skb_release_data (net/core/skbuff.c:1139) [ 238.029989][ T318] check_slab_allocation (mm/kasan/common.c:231) [ 238.029995][ T318] kmem_cache_free (mm/slub.c:2637 (discriminator 1) mm/slub.c:6168 (discriminator 1) mm/slub.c:6298 (discriminator 1)) [ 238.030004][ T318] skb_release_data (net/core/skbuff.c:1139) ... [ 238.030025][ T318] sk_skb_reason_drop (net/core/skbuff.c:1256) [ 238.030032][ T318] pfifo_fast_reset (./include/linux/ptr_ring.h:171 ./include/linux/ptr_ring.h:309 ./include/linux/skb_array.h:98 net/sched/sch_generic.c:827) [ 238.030039][ T318] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) ... [ 238.030054][ T318] qdisc_reset (net/sched/sch_generic.c:1034) [ 238.030062][ T318] teql_destroy (./include/linux/spinlock.h:395 net/sched/sch_teql.c:157) [ 238.030071][ T318] __qdisc_destroy (./include/net/pkt_sched.h:328 net/sched/sch_generic.c:1077) [ 238.030077][ T318] qdisc_graft (net/sched/sch_api.c:1062 net/sched/sch_api.c:1053 net/sched/sch_api.c:1159) [ 238.030089][ T318] ? __pfx_qdisc_graft (net/sched/sch_api.c:1091) [ 238.030095][ T318] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 238.030102][ T318] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 238.030106][ T318] ? srso_alias_return_thunk (arch/x86/lib/retpoline.S:221) [ 238.030114][ T318] tc_get_qdisc (net/sched/sch_api.c:1529 net/sched/sch_api.c:1556) ... [ 238.072958][ T318] Allocated by task 303 on cpu 5 at 238.026275s: [ 238.073392][ T318] kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:58) [ 238.073884][ T318] kasan_save_track (mm/kasan/common.c:64 (discriminator 5) mm/kasan/common.c:79 (discriminator 5)) [ 238.074230][ T318] __kasan_slab_alloc (mm/kasan/common.c:369) [ 238.074578][ T318] kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof (./include/linux/kasan.h:253 mm/slub.c:4542 mm/slub.c:4869 mm/slub.c:4921) [ 238.076091][ T318] kmalloc_reserve (net/core/skbuff.c:616 (discriminator 107)) [ 238.076450][ T318] __alloc_skb (net/core/skbuff.c:713) [ 238.076834][ T318] alloc_skb_with_frags (./include/linux/skbuff.h:1383 net/core/skbuff.c:6763) [ 238.077178][ T318] sock_alloc_send_pskb (net/core/sock.c:2997) [ 238.077520][ T318] packet_sendmsg (net/packet/af_packet.c:2926 net/packet/af_packet.c:3019 net/packet/af_packet.c:3108) [ 238.081469][ T318] [ 238.081870][ T318] Freed by task 299 on cpu 1 at 238.028496s: [ 238.082761][ T318] kasan_save_stack (mm/kasan/common.c:58) [ 238.083481][ T318] kasan_save_track (mm/kasan/common.c:64 (discriminator 5) mm/kasan/common.c:79 (discriminator 5)) [ 238.085348][ T318] kasan_save_free_info (mm/kasan/generic.c:587 (discriminator 1)) [ 238.085900][ T318] __kasan_slab_free (mm/ ---truncated---
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Double-free in kernel TEQL qdisc enables local memory corruption for privilege escalation (T1068) or DoS via system exploitation (T1499.004).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly remediates the double-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's TEQL qdisc by requiring timely application of patches that implement proper seq_lock usage during qdisc_reset.
Disabling unnecessary network queue disciplines like TEQL prevents local attackers from configuring the vulnerable component via tc commands.
Enforcing least privilege restricts low-privileged users from obtaining the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability needed to set up TEQL devices and trigger the race condition.