---
id: CVE-2026-72463
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption

  xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish.
  However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption

  xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish.
  However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev…
severity: critical
cvss: 9.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 0f451b43c88bf2b9c038b414be580efee42e031b <
    1acd93259b6be269e26be5d71c224bccd1f8352f
  - >-
    Linux >= 1c428b03840094410c5fb6a5db30640486bbbfcb <
    63a30015199912bd5055bead8001b1ae68a67cdb
  - >-
    Linux >= 1c428b03840094410c5fb6a5db30640486bbbfcb <
    8045c0df98d4f14c54e5cb875f1c9c0ce89fe4ff
  - Linux 4236c30b437b80f673b9e08c8fae38b8d471ac9e
  - Linux 5002beda5cac69d522dc54da0d5d463ed9c963d2
  - Linux >= 6.18.23 < 6.18.54
  - Linux >= 6.12.94 < 6.13
  - Linux >= 6.19.13 < 6.20
  - Linux 7.0
published: '2026-08-15'
updated: '2026-09-25'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-25T15:17:55.113'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72463'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1acd93259b6be269e26be5d71c224bccd1f8352f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63a30015199912bd5055bead8001b1ae68a67cdb'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8045c0df98d4f14c54e5cb875f1c9c0ce89fe4ff'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00553
epssPercentile: 0.43846
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T15:10:56.362Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption

xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish.
However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev to tunnel dev without taking
device reference, such as vti_rcv_cb. The subsequent async resumption
will decrement the tunnel device's reference count, which lead to uaf
of tunnel dev and refcnt leak of orig dev as below:

unregister_netdevice: waiting for vti1 to become free. Usage count = -2

Stash the original skb->dev to fix refcnt imbalance. The new skb->dev set
by xfrm_rcv_cb can race with device teardown. Extend rcu protection over
xfrm_rcv_cb and transport_finish to prevent races.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.