Linux Kernel up to 7.1.8 ipv6 in6_dev_get ip6_ptr 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	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as very critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.8. Affected by this vulnerability is the function in6_dev_get of the component ipv6. This manipulation of the argument ip6_ptr causes use after free. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-74630. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.8. It has been declared as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function in6_dev_get of the component ipv6. The manipulation of the argument ip6_ptr 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. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: prevent in6_dev_get() from resurrecting inet6_dev in6_dev_get() reads dev->ip6_ptr under RCU and then unconditionally increments its refcount. Device teardown can clear the pointer and drop the last reference between these operations. The increment then resurrects an object whose RCU free has already been queued, so callers can use it after it is freed. Use refcount_inc_not_zero() and return NULL when the object has already reached zero. RCU keeps the memory accessible through the attempted reference acquisition, and a successful increment pins the object for the caller. An independent run on the exact unpatched 6f5156d7a31a (v7.2-rc3) kernel reproduced the invalid reference acquisition as UID 1000: refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free. ip6_mc_source+0xef4/0x17e0 It was followed by the corresponding reference underflow in ip6_mc_source(). The supplied trace from the same unpatched revision additionally shows the access after the RCU read-side section ends: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mutex_lock+0x76/0xe0 Write of size 8 at addr ffff888015b50240 by task poc/1219 Bug found and triaged by OpenAI Security Research and validated by Trail of Bits.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-74630 since 08/15/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/07/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 343049 (Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2026-500248)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45 or 7.1.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 785d908f8d21c8bc78b6fb2c2932ab662bf6918a/aedcfefdb5b7ed7f8a6196a3e68a25bdbe51d2f8/145812b678de9f3b59780173be3c0d22ed60dd93/cc5bd568f9b7683e60841b6fd02c10d64535bd6e/1c206d461c680c3151daa3c89fc26eaf5bf98a7f/680fbd7942185448eadb990a3d10a53eb946b702/14e812ab41df0cac033479da835ec9a5de633404/0e243671bc7b8eaf00f83dd2f4367436dc0cff98 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (343049) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-2970). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.264
• 5.15.215
• 6.1.182
• 6.6.151
• 6.12.103
• 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
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.1.5
• 7.1.6
• 7.1.7
• 7.1.8

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

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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

Nessus ID: 343049
Nessus Name: Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2026-500248)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.265/5.15.216/6.1.183/6.6.152/6.12.104/6.18.45/7.1.9
Patch: 785d908f8d21c8bc78b6fb2c2932ab662bf6918a/aedcfefdb5b7ed7f8a6196a3e68a25bdbe51d2f8/145812b678de9f3b59780173be3c0d22ed60dd93/cc5bd568f9b7683e60841b6fd02c10d64535bd6e/1c206d461c680c3151daa3c89fc26eaf5bf98a7f/680fbd7942185448eadb990a3d10a53eb946b702/14e812ab41df0cac033479da835ec9a5de633404/0e243671bc7b8eaf00f83dd2f4367436dc0cff98

Timelineinfo

08/15/2026 CVE reserved
08/22/2026 +7 days Advisory disclosed
08/22/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/07/2026 +16 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-74630 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-74630
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-394405
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2026-2970 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen nicht spezifizierten Angriff

Entryinfo

Created: 08/22/2026 18:21
Updated: 09/07/2026 03:44
Changes: 08/22/2026 18:21 (60), 08/25/2026 05:44 (7), 09/07/2026 03:44 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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