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CriticalFix available

mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close

Type: advisorySources: OSV

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close The backlog list is updated by mptcp_data_ready() under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup of backlog references to a closing subflow, however, was performed in mptcp_close_ssk(), before __mptcp_close_ssk() acquires the ssk lock, and while holding neither the ssk lock nor mptcp_data_lock(). Because that traversal ran without mptcp_data_lock(), concurrent softirq RX processing on another CPU (subflow_data_ready() -> mptcp_data_ready() -> __mptcp_add_backlog(), under mptcp_data_lock()) could add a backlog entry referencing the ssk while the cleanup loop was in progress. Such an entry could be missed by the cleanup, or the concurrent list update could corrupt the traversal, leaving skb->sk pointing at the ssk after it is freed. A later mptcp_backlog_purge() then dereferences the stale pointer, triggering a warning in inet_sock_destruct() (ssk->sk_rmem_alloc != 0) followed by a use-after-free in mptcp_backlog_purge(). Fix this by moving the backlog cleanup into __mptcp_close_ssk(), after subflow->closing is set to 1 and while the ssk lock is still held, serialized under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup runs only on the push path (MPTCP_CF_PUSH), where backlog references accumulate; on other teardown paths the caller already handles cleanup. With subflow->closing set and mptcp_data_lock() held across the purge, any concurrent mptcp_data_ready() either completes its enq

Products
Kernel
Affected versions
Not specified
Fixed versions
7.1.6
CVEs
CVE-2026-68170
Confirmed fixed CVEs
Not specified
Updated in this feed
8 Nov 2026, 00:16 UTC · Revision 1

Source evidence

mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close

core-osv · Original source

Published 10 Aug 2026, 11:59 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close The backlog list is updated by mptcp_data_ready() under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup of backlog references to a closing subflow, however, was performed in mptcp_close_ssk(), before __mptcp_close_ssk() acquires the ssk lock, and while holding neither the ssk lock nor mptcp_data_lock(). Because that traversal ran without mptcp_data_lock(), concurrent softirq RX processing on another CPU (subflow_data_ready() -> mptcp_data_ready() -> __mptcp_add_backlog(), under mptcp_data_lock()) could add a backlog entry referencing the ssk while the cleanup loop was in progress. Such an entry could be missed by the cleanup, or the concurrent list update could corrupt the traversal, leaving skb->sk pointing at the ssk after it is freed. A later mptcp_backlog_purge() then dereferences the stale pointer, triggering a warning in inet_sock_destruct() (ssk->sk_rmem_alloc != 0) followed by a use-after-free in mptcp_backlog_purge(). Fix this by moving the backlog cleanup into __mptcp_close_ssk(), after subflow->closing is set to 1 and while the ssk lock is still held, serialized under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup runs only on the push path (MPTCP_CF_PUSH), where backlog references accumulate; on other teardown paths the caller already handles cleanup. With subflow->closing set and mptcp_data_lock() held across the purge, any concurrent mptcp_data_ready() either completes its enq

osv:CVE-2026-68170

Kernel

Fixed versions: 7.1.6

Complete source record
{
  "id": "e9ece9e01427062b3cdeea6e5f053ce4b1b8913f64ba59b2e272760a1b0f4f13",
  "url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68170",
  "method": "structured",
  "payload": {
    "kind": "advisory",
    "title": "mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close",
    "summary": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: fix stale skb->sk reference on subflow close The backlog list is updated by mptcp_data_ready() under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup of backlog references to a closing subflow, however, was performed in mptcp_close_ssk(), before __mptcp_close_ssk() acquires the ssk lock, and while holding neither the ssk lock nor mptcp_data_lock(). Because that traversal ran without mptcp_data_lock(), concurrent softirq RX processing on another CPU (subflow_data_ready() -> mptcp_data_ready() -> __mptcp_add_backlog(), under mptcp_data_lock()) could add a backlog entry referencing the ssk while the cleanup loop was in progress. Such an entry could be missed by the cleanup, or the concurrent list update could corrupt the traversal, leaving skb->sk pointing at the ssk after it is freed. A later mptcp_backlog_purge() then dereferences the stale pointer, triggering a warning in inet_sock_destruct() (ssk->sk_rmem_alloc != 0) followed by a use-after-free in mptcp_backlog_purge(). Fix this by moving the backlog cleanup into __mptcp_close_ssk(), after subflow->closing is set to 1 and while the ssk lock is still held, serialized under mptcp_data_lock(). The cleanup runs only on the push path (MPTCP_CF_PUSH), where backlog references accumulate; on other teardown paths the caller already handles cleanup. With subflow->closing set and mptcp_data_lock() held across the purge, any concurrent mptcp_data_ready() either completes its enq",
    "evidence": "osv:CVE-2026-68170",
    "products": [
      {
        "name": {
          "value": "Kernel",
          "evidence": "/affected/1/package/name"
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        "prerequisites": [],
        "fixed_versions": [
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            "value": "7.1.6",
            "evidence": "/affected/1/ranges"
          }
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        "affected_versions": []
      }
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    "severity": "critical",
    "structured": {
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      "aliases": [
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      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "type": "CVSS_V3",
          "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
        }
      ],
      "affected": [
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
              "type": "GIT",
              "events": [
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                {
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                },
                {
                  "fixed": "bd7aae448f6ee9d82599a4474664de1e6e91a535"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-68170.json"
          }
        },
        {
          "ranges": [
            {
              "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
              "events": [
                {
                  "introduced": "6.19.0"
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                {
                  "fixed": "7.1.6"
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              ]
            }
          ],
          "package": {
            "name": "Kernel",
            "ecosystem": "Linux"
          },
          "database_specific": {
            "source": "https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2026-68170.json"
          }
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      ],
      "modified": "2026-10-28T02:30:51.926338128Z",
      "provider": "osv",
      "references": [
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/625fc6060864889fe3d370cdeffbbab762af3cb4",
        "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd7aae448f6ee9d82599a4474664de1e6e91a535",
        "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/68xxx/CVE-2026-68170.json",
        "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68170",
        "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git"
      ],
      "provider_metadata": {
        "cna_assigner": "Linux",
        "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/68xxx/CVE-2026-68170.json"
      }
    },
    "related_cves": [
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        "evidence": "/id"
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    "security_relevant": true,
    "severity_evidence": "/severity/0/score"
  },
  "source_id": "core-osv",
  "document_id": 520895,
  "published_at": "2026-08-10T11:59:39.174+00:00"
}