Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 xprtrdma rpcrdma_reply_handler use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	1.95

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.177/6.6.144/6.12.96/6.18.39/7.1.4. This impacts the function rpcrdma_reply_handler of the component xprtrdma. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-72473. The attack may be performed from remote. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.177/6.6.144/6.12.96/6.18.39/7.1.4. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function rpcrdma_reply_handler of the component xprtrdma. 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: xprtrdma: Decouple req recycling from RPC completion rl_kref formerly served two distinct lifetimes through a single refcount: it gated when a Reply could wake its RPC task, and it gated when an rpcrdma_req could return to its free pool. The marshal path took the Send-side reference only when SGEs needed DMA-unmap (sc_unmap_count > 0), which made a Send carrying only pre-registered buffers an exception: the Reply handler dropped rl_kref from 1 to 0 and freed the req while the HCA might still be DMA-reading from its send buffer. Give rl_kref a narrower job. The RPC layer takes one reference when slot allocation hands a req out. rpcrdma_prepare_send_sges() takes a Send-side reference unconditionally after WR preparation succeeds. xprt_rdma_free_slot() and xprt_rdma_bc_free_rqst() drop the RPC-layer reference; rpcrdma_sendctx_unmap() drops the Send-side reference. The req returns to its free pool only after both owners have signed off. The existing kref_init(&req->rl_kref) call in rpcrdma_prepare_send_sges() is removed. Initialization moves to the slot-allocation paths (xprt_rdma_alloc_slot and rpcrdma_bc_rqst_get), and the release callback re-arms rl_kref before the req returns to a free pool. A re-init in the marshal path would discard the RPC-layer reference that already exists on entry. Three invariants follow: - Any rpcrdma_req held by an rpc_rqst has rl_kref >= 1. xprt_rdma_alloc_slot(), rpcrdma_bc_rqst_get(), and the backlog-wake branch in xprt_rdma_alloc_slot() each kref_init rl_kref before publishing the req. Without this invariant, an RPC task that aborts between slot allocation and marshal (gss_refresh failure or signal during call_connect, for example) would drive xprt_release() -> xprt_rdma_free_slot() -> kref_put against a refcount of zero, saturating refcount_t and stranding the slot. - The Send-side reference is taken only after WR prep succeeds. A mapping failure in rpcrdma_prepare_send_sges() runs rpcrdma_sendctx_cancel(), which DMA-unmaps the sendctx and clears sc_req without touching rl_kref. The sendctx ring walks in rpcrdma_sendctx_put_locked() and rpcrdma_sendctxs_destroy() skip entries with sc_req == NULL, so a burst of -EIO marshal failures cannot hold reqs off rb_send_bufs. - The release callback re-arms rl_kref so the next consumer enters with the invariant satisfied. Replies now complete the RPC directly. rpcrdma_reply_handler() calls rpcrdma_complete_rqst() in place of kref_put on the non-LocalInv branch. The LocalInv branch already completes the RPC from frwr_unmap_async() and is unaffected. Because Send-side references can now outlive RPC completion, connection teardown drains sendctx entries whose unsignaled Sends never had a later signaled completion to walk the ring. rpcrdma_sendctxs_destroy() walks the active range and runs rpcrdma_sendctx_unmap() on each entry with a non-NULL sc_req before the request buffers are reset, and is moved ahead of rpcrdma_reqs_reset() in rpcrdma_xprt_disconnect() so the reqs are still in their pre-reset state when the Send-side refs are released. The drain creates a teardown-ordering hazard on the backchannel path. With the new lifetime, releasing a bc_prealloc req from rpcrdma_req_release() re-adds it to bc_pa_list. The disconnect in xprt_rdma_destroy() runs after xprt_destroy_backchannel() has already emptied bc_pa_list, so the drained reqs would otherwise leak. xprt_rdma_destroy() now runs xprt_rdma_bc_destroy(xprt, 0) a second time after the disconnect to reclaim them.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-72473 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 740975054a1970c0cf15f70ac39724a064f45847/9f3d9b68c1c6c51746e5ecdb52b2e6a2901de37e/e7632089523acddcdd8f090ad19e96fb3107b04d/53442c7d0c888e51b8bc3da196970a669cc6b294/8203f760a72bd39a3b66bc4eff0aa272a99fe22b/e786233d2e0bbff9a82e43f02ae3a46ab4b08ec3 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.177
• 6.6.144
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
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• 6.12.94
• 6.12.95
• 6.12.96
• 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
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• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc1
Patch: 740975054a1970c0cf15f70ac39724a064f45847/9f3d9b68c1c6c51746e5ecdb52b2e6a2901de37e/e7632089523acddcdd8f090ad19e96fb3107b04d/53442c7d0c888e51b8bc3da196970a669cc6b294/8203f760a72bd39a3b66bc4eff0aa272a99fe22b/e786233d2e0bbff9a82e43f02ae3a46ab4b08ec3

Timelineinfo

08/09/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-72473 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72473
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-391048

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 17:16
Changes: 08/15/2026 17:16 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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