Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5 BPF bpf_netns_link_update_prog old_prog/new_prog race condition

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.
8.7	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5. The affected element is the function bpf_netns_link_update_prog of the component BPF. This manipulation of the argument old_prog/new_prog causes race condition. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-90393. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5. It has been declared as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function bpf_netns_link_update_prog of the component BPF. The manipulation of the argument old_prog/new_prog with an unknown input leads to a race condition vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-362. The product contains a code sequence that can run concurrently with other code, and the code sequence requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence that is operating concurrently. 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: bpf: Fix potential UAF in bpf_netns_link_update_prog In bpf_netns_link_update_prog, the checks for old_prog and prog type are currently performed locklessly before acquiring netns_bpf_mutex. This creates a race condition that can lead to a UAF issue. If two threads concurrently execute BPF_LINK_UPDATE on the same netns link, the following execution path can trigger a UAF: CPU0 CPU1 bpf_netns_link_update_prog if (old_prog && old_prog != link->prog) return -EPERM; bpf_netns_link_update_prog if (old_prog && old_prog != link->prog) ... old_prog = xchg(&link->prog, new_prog); bpf_prog_put(old_prog); if (new_prog->type != link->prog->type) <-- trigger UAF Fix this by moving the old_prog and prog->type checks inside the netns_bpf_mutex critical section. Meanwhile, use guard() to simplify lock management and avoid all the goto jumping.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-90393 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation needs additional levels of successful authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/17/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch d462b5481d77ce7df8a5ff89a699386f00c9214d/bdddf3e1493ee973619c154a57071ce67f78598b/79a66fd997d4eecf17302d613194879eb32e0986/f4ce6803df4095777191d800bebc50219b615ca0/277168cb9d153ce8e9c3f9275670e32ae61b41d6/bda86e9f31b9a296b6e64a51c91dc776fc9f613e/923f559e95b89b33c7e1793b3d8f7f4ec9b2e4b7/5c5997836381010fc5907b36bc17d3b19407e933 is able to eliminate this problem. 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

• 5.10.269
• 5.15.220
• 6.1.187
• 6.6.156
• 6.12.109
• 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
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5

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: 9.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.7

VulDB Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Temp Score: 8.7
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: Race condition
CWE: CWE-362
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 5.10.270/5.15.221/6.1.188/6.6.157/6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc1
Patch: d462b5481d77ce7df8a5ff89a699386f00c9214d/bdddf3e1493ee973619c154a57071ce67f78598b/79a66fd997d4eecf17302d613194879eb32e0986/f4ce6803df4095777191d800bebc50219b615ca0/277168cb9d153ce8e9c3f9275670e32ae61b41d6/bda86e9f31b9a296b6e64a51c91dc776fc9f613e/923f559e95b89b33c7e1793b3d8f7f4ec9b2e4b7/5c5997836381010fc5907b36bc17d3b19407e933

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/17/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-90393 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-90393
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-406951

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2026 22:13
Changes: 09/17/2026 22:13 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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