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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2026-45918: ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close()

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34, b9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe26, f998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c56.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34, b9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe26, f998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c56 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close() When deleting a peer in case of keepalive expiration, the peer is removed from the OpenVPN hashtable and is temporary inserted in a "release list" for further processing. This happens in: ovpn_peer_keepalive_work() unlock_ovpn(release_list) This processing includes detaching from the socket being used to talk to this peer, by restoring its original proto and socket ops/callbacks. In case of TCP it may happen that, while the peer is sitting in the release list, userspace decides to close the socket. This will result in a concurrent execution of: tcp_close(sk) __tcp_close(sk) sock_orphan(sk) sk_set_socket(sk, NULL) The last function call will set sk->sk_socket to NULL. When the releasing routine is resumed, ovpn_tcp_socket_detach() will attempt to dereference sk->sk_socket to restore its original ops member. This operation will crash due to sk->sk_socket being NULL. Fix this race condition by testing-and-accessing sk->sk_socket atomically under sk->sk_callback_lock.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
Jun 24, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 5th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel6.16 and later · before 6.18.14
  • linux linux kernel6.19 and later · before 6.19.4

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 6.16affected
    • 11851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 and later · before f998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c56affected · git
    • 11851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 and later · before b9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe26affected · git
    • 11851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 and later · before 94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34affected · git
    • before 6.16not affected · semver
    • 6.18.14 and later · up to and including 6.18.*not affected · semver
    • 6.19.4 and later · up to and including 6.19.*not affected · semver
    • 7.0 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:14linuxbefore 6.18.14-16.18.14-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-45915May 27, 2026 · fat: avoid parent link count underflow in rmdir
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-45916May 27, 2026 · power: supply: sbs-battery: Fix use-after-free in power_supply_changed()
    31Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-45919May 27, 2026 · sched/rt: Skip currently executing CPU in rto_next_cpu()
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxb9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe26Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxf998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c56Vendor (CNA)
debian:linux6.18.14-1 · Debian:14Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (2 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records