Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-23010

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.162 / 6.6.122 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix use-after-free in inet6_addr_del(). syzbot reported use-after-free of inet6_ifaddr in inet6_addr_del(). [0] The cited commit accidentally moved ipv6_del_addr() for mngtmpaddr before reading its ifp->flags for temporary addresses in inet6_addr_del(). Let's move ipv6_del_addr() down to fix the UAF. [0]: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in inet6_addr_del.constprop.0+0x67a/0x6b0 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3117 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88807b89c86c by task syz.3.1618/9593 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 9593 Comm: syz.3.1618 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/25/2025 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xcd/0x630 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xe0/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:595 inet6_addr_del.constprop.0+0x67a/0x6b0 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3117 addrconf_del_ifaddr+0x11e/0x190 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3181 inet6_ioctl+0x1e5/0x2b0 net/ipv6/af_inet6.c:582 sock_do_ioctl+0x118/0x280 net/socket.c:1254 sock_ioctl+0x227/0x6b0 net/socket.c:1375 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:597 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:583 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x18e/0x210 fs/ioctl.c:583 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f164cf8f749 Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 a8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007f164de64038 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f164d1e5fa0 RCX: 00007f164cf8f749 RDX: 0000200000000000 RSI: 0000000000008936 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007f164d013f91 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 00007f164d1e6038 R14: 00007f164d1e5fa0 R15: 00007ffde15c8288 </TASK> Allocated by task 9593: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:77 poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:397 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 mm/kasan/common.c:414 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:957 [inline] kzalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:1094 [inline] ipv6_add_addr+0x4e3/0x2010 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:1120 inet6_addr_add+0x256/0x9b0 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3050 addrconf_add_ifaddr+0x1fc/0x450 net/ipv6/addrconf.c:3160 inet6_ioctl+0x103/0x2b0 net/ipv6/af_inet6.c:580 sock_do_ioctl+0x118/0x280 net/socket.c:1254 sock_ioctl+0x227/0x6b0 net/socket.c:1375 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:597 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:583 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x18e/0x210 fs/ioctl.c:583 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 6099: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 mm/kasan/common.c:77 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 mm/kasan/generic.c:584 poison_slab_object mm/kasan/common.c:252 [inline] __kasan_slab_free+0x5f/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:284 kasan_slab_free include/linux/kasan.h:234 [inline] slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:2540 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook mm/slub.c:2569 [inline] slab_free_bulk mm/slub.c:6696 [inline] kmem_cache_free_bulk mm/slub.c:7383 [inline] kmem_cache_free_bulk+0x2bf/0x680 mm/slub.c:7362 kfree_bulk include/linux/slab.h:830 [inline] kvfree_rcu_bulk+0x1b7/0x1e0 mm/slab_common.c:1523 kvfree_rcu_drain_ready mm/slab_common.c:1728 [inline] kfree_rcu_monitor+0x1d0/0x2f0 mm/slab_common.c:1801 process_one_work+0x9ba/0x1b20 kernel/workqueue.c:3257 process_scheduled_works kernel/workqu ---truncated---

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.1.120, < 6.1.162>= 6.6.64, < 6.6.122>= 6.11.11, < 6.12>= 6.12.2, < 6.12.67>= 6.13.1, < 6.18.7= 6.13= 6.19

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.162 / 6.6.122 / 6.12 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1626.6.1226.12
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.1.162, 6.6.122, 6.12, or 6.12.67 (depending on your base branch)

  1. Identify your current kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. For RHEL/CentOS systems: upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix (e.g., kernel-6.1.162 or later for 6.1.x based systems, kernel-6.6.122 or later for 6.6.x based systems)
  3. For Debian/Ubuntu systems: upgrade to linux-image-6.1.162 or later, or linux-image-6.6.122 or later, or the appropriate patched version for your base
  4. For other distributions: upgrade to kernel 6.1.162+, 6.6.122+, 6.12+, or 6.12.67+ as applicable to your base version
  5. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: 'sudo reboot'
  6. After reboot, verify the kernel version is fixed: 'uname -r' and confirm it's >= the fixed version for your branch
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system downtime and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific driver versions - test in staging first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-23010 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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