Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9 unix_stream_bpf_update_proto use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.174/6.6.140/6.12.90/6.18.32/7.0.9. The affected element is the function unix_stream_bpf_update_proto. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-53033. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.174/6.6.140/6.12.90/6.18.32/7.0.9 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function unix_stream_bpf_update_proto. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf, sockmap: Take state lock for af_unix iter When a BPF iterator program updates a sockmap, there is a race condition in unix_stream_bpf_update_proto() where the `peer` pointer can become stale[1] during a state transition TCP_ESTABLISHED -> TCP_CLOSE. CPU0 bpf CPU1 close -------- ---------- // unix_stream_bpf_update_proto() sk_pair = unix_peer(sk) if (unlikely(!sk_pair)) return -EINVAL; // unix_release_sock() skpair = unix_peer(sk); unix_peer(sk) = NULL; sock_put(skpair) sock_hold(sk_pair) // UaF More practically, this fix guarantees that the iterator program is consistently provided with a unix socket that remains stable during iterator execution. [1]: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in unix_stream_bpf_update_proto+0x155/0x490 Write of size 4 at addr ffff8881178c9a00 by task test_progs/2231 Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x5d/0x80 print_report+0x170/0x4f3 kasan_report+0xe4/0x1c0 kasan_check_range+0x125/0x200 unix_stream_bpf_update_proto+0x155/0x490 sock_map_link+0x71c/0xec0 sock_map_update_common+0xbc/0x600 sock_map_update_elem+0x19a/0x1f0 bpf_prog_bbbf56096cdd4f01_selective_dump_unix+0x20c/0x217 bpf_iter_run_prog+0x21e/0xae0 bpf_iter_unix_seq_show+0x1e0/0x2a0 bpf_seq_read+0x42c/0x10d0 vfs_read+0x171/0xb20 ksys_read+0xff/0x200 do_syscall_64+0xf7/0x5e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Allocated by task 2236: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x63/0x80 kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x1d5/0x680 sk_prot_alloc+0x59/0x210 sk_alloc+0x34/0x470 unix_create1+0x86/0x8a0 unix_stream_connect+0x318/0x15b0 __sys_connect+0xfd/0x130 __x64_sys_connect+0x72/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xf7/0x5e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Freed by task 2236: kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x70 __kasan_slab_free+0x47/0x70 kmem_cache_free+0x11c/0x590 __sk_destruct+0x432/0x6e0 unix_release_sock+0x9b3/0xf60 unix_release+0x8a/0xf0 __sock_release+0xb0/0x270 sock_close+0x18/0x20 __fput+0x36e/0xac0 fput_close_sync+0xe5/0x1a0 __x64_sys_close+0x7d/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0xf7/0x5e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-53033 since 06/09/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/24/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33 or 7.0.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c6f4015eac2e3cbc3cb7a17539e10bbb5c2049c3/d0d124dbcef9318e326956137b31671407094bd4/1a59cc6b65fd3ad9915aae5970d859109d4ce9fb/921920c34cb591947dd30c692500795a69f1e3fa/98f744d204e5d6fca589cd2c44c3190a0c71697f/64c2f93fc3254d3bf5de4445fb732ee5c451edb6 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.174
• 6.6.140
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.12.75
• 6.12.76
• 6.12.77
• 6.12.78
• 6.12.79
• 6.12.80
• 6.12.81
• 6.12.82
• 6.12.83
• 6.12.84
• 6.12.85
• 6.12.86
• 6.12.87
• 6.12.88
• 6.12.89
• 6.12.90
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3
• 7.0.4
• 7.0.5
• 7.0.6
• 7.0.7
• 7.0.8
• 7.0.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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