Linux Kernel up to 7.1.2 mac802154 use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.2. This issue affects the function llsec_do_encrypt_unauth/llsec_do_encrypt_auth/llsec_do_decrypt_unauth/llsec_do_decrypt_auth of the component mac802154. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-63831. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.2. This vulnerability affects the function llsec_do_encrypt_unauth/llsec_do_encrypt_auth/llsec_do_decrypt_unauth/llsec_do_decrypt_auth of the component mac802154. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mac802154: llsec: add skb_cow_data() before in-place crypto llsec_do_encrypt_unauth(), llsec_do_encrypt_auth(), llsec_do_decrypt_unauth(), and llsec_do_decrypt_auth() all perform in-place cryptographic transformations on skb data. They build a scatterlist with sg_init_one() pointing into the skb's linear data area and then pass the same scatterlist as both src and dst to the crypto API (e.g. crypto_skcipher_encrypt/decrypt, crypto_aead_encrypt/decrypt). On the RX path, __ieee802154_rx_handle_packet() clones the received skb before handing it to each subscriber via ieee802154_subif_frame(). The cloned skb shares the same underlying data buffer via reference counting. When llsec_do_decrypt() subsequently modifies this shared buffer in place, it corrupts data that other clones -- potentially belonging to other sockets or subsystems -- still reference. On the TX path, similar data sharing can occur when an skb's head has been cloned (skb_cloned() returns true). The fix is to call skb_cow_data() before performing any in-place crypto operation. skb_cow_data() ensures that the skb's data area is not shared: if the skb head is cloned or the data spans multiple fragments, it copies the data into a private buffer that can be safely modified in place. This is the same pattern used by: - ESP (net/ipv4/esp4.c, net/ipv6/esp6.c) - MACsec (drivers/net/macsec.c) - WireGuard (drivers/net/wireguard/receive.c) - TIPC (net/tipc/crypto.c) Without this guard, in-place crypto on shared skb data leads to: - Silent data corruption of other skb clones - Use-after-free when the crypto API scatterwalk writes through a page that has already been freed by another clone's kfree_skb() - Kernel crashes under concurrent 802.15.4 traffic with security enabled (KASAN/KMSAN reports slab-use-after-free) Found by 0sec (https://0sec.ai) using automated source analysis.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-63831 since 07/19/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/19/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.259
• 5.15.210
• 6.1.176
• 6.6.143
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
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• 6.12.88
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• 6.12.92
• 6.12.93
• 6.12.94
• 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
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• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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