CVE-2026-52975 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 06/24/2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bonding: 3ad: implement proper RCU rules for port->aggregator
syzbot found a data-race in bond_3ad_get_active_agg_info / bond_3ad_state_machine_handler [1] which hints at lack of proper
RCU implementation.
Add __rcu qualifier to port->aggregator, and add proper RCU API.
[1]
BUG: KCSAN: data-race in bond_3ad_get_active_agg_info / bond_3ad_state_machine_handler
write to 0xffff88813cf5c4b0 of 8 bytes by task 36 on cpu 0: ad_port_selection_logic drivers/net/bonding/bond_3ad.c:1659 [inline]
bond_3ad_state_machine_handler+0x9d5/0x2d60 drivers/net/bonding/bond_3ad.c:2569 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3302 [inline]
process_scheduled_works+0x4f0/0x9c0 kernel/workqueue.c:3385 worker_thread+0x58a/0x780 kernel/workqueue.c:3466 kthread+0x22a/0x280 kernel/kthread.c:436 ret_from_fork+0x146/0x330 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
read to 0xffff88813cf5c4b0 of 8 bytes by task 22063 on cpu 1: __bond_3ad_get_active_agg_info drivers/net/bonding/bond_3ad.c:2858 [inline]
bond_3ad_get_active_agg_info+0x8c/0x230 drivers/net/bonding/bond_3ad.c:2881 bond_fill_info+0xe0f/0x10f0 drivers/net/bonding/bond_netlink.c:853 rtnl_link_info_fill net/core/rtnetlink.c:906 [inline]
rtnl_link_fill+0x1d7/0x4e0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:927 rtnl_fill_ifinfo+0xf8e/0x1380 net/core/rtnetlink.c:2168 rtmsg_ifinfo_build_skb+0x11c/0x1b0 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4453 rtmsg_ifinfo_event net/core/rtnetlink.c:4486 [inline]
rtmsg_ifinfo+0x6d/0x110 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4495 __dev_notify_flags+0x76/0x390 net/core/dev.c:9790 netif_change_flags+0xac/0xd0 net/core/dev.c:9823 do_setlink+0x905/0x2950 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3180 rtnl_group_changelink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3813 [inline]
__rtnl_newlink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3981 [inline]
rtnl_newlink+0xf55/0x1400 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4109 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x64b/0x720 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6995 netlink_rcv_skb+0x123/0x220 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2550 rtnetlink_rcv+0x1c/0x30 net/core/rtnetlink.c:7022 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1318 [inline]
netlink_unicast+0x5a8/0x680 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1344 netlink_sendmsg+0x5c8/0x6f0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1894 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:787 [inline]
__sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:802 [inline]
____sys_sendmsg+0x563/0x5b0 net/socket.c:2698 ___sys_sendmsg+0x195/0x1e0 net/socket.c:2752 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2784 [inline]
__do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2789 [inline]
__se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2787 [inline]
__x64_sys_sendmsg+0xd4/0x160 net/socket.c:2787 x64_sys_call+0x194c/0x3020 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x12c/0x3b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
value changed: 0x0000000000000000 -> 0xffff88813cf5c400
Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 22063 Comm: syz.0.31122 Tainted: G W syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Tainted: [W]=WARN
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/18/2026
Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/25/2026
The vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel bonding driver relates to improper implementation of Read-Copy-Update (RCU) mechanisms within the 802.3ad link aggregation protocol handler. This flaw manifests as a data race between concurrent access patterns in the bond_3ad_get_active_agg_info and bond_3ad_state_machine_handler functions, specifically involving the port->aggregator field. The Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer (KCSAN) detected this race condition during testing by syzbot, where one thread performs a write operation to the aggregator pointer while another reads from it without proper synchronization. The technical root cause stems from the absence of the __rcu qualifier on the port->aggregator member and lack of appropriate RCU API usage in the bonding driver's 3ad implementation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data corruption, potentially leading to system instability and unpredictable behavior within network link aggregation contexts. When multiple threads simultaneously access the aggregator structure through different code paths, the race condition can result in dereferencing invalid memory addresses or accessing stale data pointers. This scenario directly violates fundamental RCU principles that ensure safe concurrent access to shared data structures without locks. The vulnerability affects systems utilizing the bonding driver with 802.3ad mode, where dynamic link aggregation occurs, potentially allowing malicious actors to exploit timing conditions for privilege escalation or denial of service attacks.
The fix implemented addresses the core issue by properly qualifying the port->aggregator field with the __rcu attribute and integrating appropriate RCU API calls throughout the affected code paths. This approach aligns with established best practices for concurrent programming in kernel space as recommended by the Linux kernel documentation and follows the principles outlined in CWE-362, which specifically addresses race conditions in concurrent systems. The mitigation strategy ensures that all accesses to the aggregator field are properly synchronized using RCU mechanisms, preventing data races while maintaining performance characteristics essential for network operations. This solution directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1059.003, which involves the exploitation of kernel vulnerabilities through concurrency issues, making it critical for system administrators to apply patches promptly and maintain up-to-date kernel versions to prevent potential exploitation scenarios.