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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-23120

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.17 / 4.16 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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: l2tp: avoid one data-race in l2tp_tunnel_del_work() We should read sk->sk_socket only when dealing with kernel sockets. syzbot reported the following data-race: BUG: KCSAN: data-race in l2tp_tunnel_del_work / sk_common_release write to 0xffff88811c182b20 of 8 bytes by task 5365 on cpu 0: sk_set_socket include/net/sock.h:2092 [inline] sock_orphan include/net/sock.h:2118 [inline] sk_common_release+0xae/0x230 net/core/sock.c:4003 udp_lib_close+0x15/0x20 include/net/udp.h:325 inet_release+0xce/0xf0 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:437 __sock_release net/socket.c:662 [inline] sock_close+0x6b/0x150 net/socket.c:1455 __fput+0x29b/0x650 fs/file_table.c:468 ____fput+0x1c/0x30 fs/file_table.c:496 task_work_run+0x131/0x1a0 kernel/task_work.c:233 resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:50 [inline] __exit_to_user_mode_loop kernel/entry/common.c:44 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_loop+0x1fe/0x740 kernel/entry/common.c:75 __exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:226 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:256 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work include/linux/entry-common.h:159 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode include/linux/entry-common.h:194 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x1e1/0x2b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f read to 0xffff88811c182b20 of 8 bytes by task 827 on cpu 1: l2tp_tunnel_del_work+0x2f/0x1a0 net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1418 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3257 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0x4ce/0x9d0 kernel/workqueue.c:3340 worker_thread+0x582/0x770 kernel/workqueue.c:3421 kthread+0x489/0x510 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x149/0x290 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:246 value changed: 0xffff88811b818000 -> 0x0000000000000000

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 3.16.57, < 3.17>= 4.15.8, < 4.16>= 4.16.1, < 5.10.249>= 5.11, < 5.15.199>= 5.16, < 6.1.162>= 6.2, < 6.6.122>= 6.7, < 6.12.68>= 6.13, < 6.18.8= 4.16= 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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 3.17 / 4.16 / 5.10.249 or later
Fixed in 3.174.165.10.249
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.15.199 (or 5.10.249, 4.16, or 3.17 depending on your version branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which version branch your current kernel belongs to (e.g., 5.15.x, 5.10.x, 4.16.x, 4.15.x, or 3.16.x)
  3. For kernels >= 5.11: upgrade to kernel version 5.15.199 or later, or 5.10.249 or later
  4. For kernels 4.15.x - 4.16.x: upgrade to kernel version 4.16 or later
  5. For kernels 3.16.x: upgrade to kernel version 3.17 or later
  6. Apply the upgrade via your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get dist-upgrade`, `yum update`, or `dnf upgrade`)
  7. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  8. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches the fixed release
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or older system utilities

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-23120 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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