Answer in brief
CVE-2026-72072 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
Answer in brief
CVE-2026-72072 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <b1a4d0c568bbb52c7c04f4fce3c097dae89ed6cb || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <218cc15a4c907659ad4b0e68c535c61594311205 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <4a5073b7b30243658f58b2d2d35a823da7fd34d9 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <ed3cc4218070d6b98bf5fb456dccae424fd38c4f || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <088873af13590ebde10de2ade847f57a05ec61c6 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <de74d8fd10291763d97b218f09adcc7513c975e4 | b1a4d0c568bbb52c7c04f4fce3c097dae89ed6cb, 218cc15a4c907659ad4b0e68c535c61594311205, 4a5073b7b30243658f58b2d2d35a823da7fd34d9, ed3cc4218070d6b98bf5fb456dccae424fd38c4f, 088873af13590ebde10de2ade847f57a05ec61c6, de74d8fd10291763d97b218f09adcc7513c975e4 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 6.1 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete When an offloaded MACsec RX SC is deleted, macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() freed the per-SC metadata_dst with metadata_dst_free(), which kfree()s the object unconditionally and ignores the dst reference count. The RX datapath in mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() looks up the SC under rcu_read_lock() via xa_load(), takes a reference with dst_hold() and attaches the dst to the skb with skb_dst_set(). A reader that already obtained the rx_sc pointer can race with the delete path and operate on freed memory. Fix the owner side by dropping the reference with dst_release() instead of freeing unconditionally, and convert the RX datapath to dst_hold_safe() so a reader racing the SC delete cannot attach a dst whose last reference was just dropped; only attach it when a reference was actually taken. mlx5e_macsec_add_rxsc() also published sc_xarray_element via xa_alloc() before rx_sc->md_dst was allocated and initialised, so a datapath reader that looked the SC up by fs_id could observe rx_sc with md_dst still NULL or, on weakly-ordered architectures, a non-NULL md_dst pointer whose contents were not yet visible. NULL-check the xa_load() result and md_dst on the datapath, and reorder add_rxsc() so the xa_alloc() publish happens only after md_dst is fully initialised; the xarray RCU publish then pairs with the rcu_read_lock()/xa_load() in the datapath. Note: macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() also kfree()s rx_sc->sc_xarray_element without an RCU grace period while the same datapath reads it under rcu_read_lock(); that is a separate pre-existing issue left to a follow-up patch. Found by 0sec automated security-research tooling (https://0sec.ai).
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.
A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <b1a4d0c568bbb52c7c04f4fce3c097dae89ed6cb || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <218cc15a4c907659ad4b0e68c535c61594311205 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <4a5073b7b30243658f58b2d2d35a823da7fd34d9 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <ed3cc4218070d6b98bf5fb456dccae424fd38c4f || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <088873af13590ebde10de2ade847f57a05ec61c6 || >=b7c9400cbc48c3713190b3bce4e0c87e924e4104 <de74d8fd10291763d97b218f09adcc7513c975e4 | b1a4d0c568bbb52c7c04f4fce3c097dae89ed6cb, 218cc15a4c907659ad4b0e68c535c61594311205, 4a5073b7b30243658f58b2d2d35a823da7fd34d9, ed3cc4218070d6b98bf5fb456dccae424fd38c4f, 088873af13590ebde10de2ade847f57a05ec61c6, de74d8fd10291763d97b218f09adcc7513c975e4 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 6.1 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: macsec: fix use-after-free of metadata_dst on RX SC delete When an offloaded MACsec RX SC is deleted, macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() freed the per-SC metadata_dst with metadata_dst_free(), which kfree()s the object unconditionally and ignores the dst reference count. The RX datapath in mlx5e_macsec_offload_handle_rx_skb() looks up the SC under rcu_read_lock() via xa_load(), takes a reference with dst_hold() and attaches the dst to the skb with skb_dst_set(). A reader that already obtained the rx_sc pointer can race with the delete path and operate on freed memory. Fix the owner side by dropping the reference with dst_release() instead of freeing unconditionally, and convert the RX datapath to dst_hold_safe() so a reader racing the SC delete cannot attach a dst whose last reference was just dropped; only attach it when a reference was actually taken. mlx5e_macsec_add_rxsc() also published sc_xarray_element via xa_alloc() before rx_sc->md_dst was allocated and initialised, so a datapath reader that looked the SC up by fs_id could observe rx_sc with md_dst still NULL or, on weakly-ordered architectures, a non-NULL md_dst pointer whose contents were not yet visible. NULL-check the xa_load() result and md_dst on the datapath, and reorder add_rxsc() so the xa_alloc() publish happens only after md_dst is fully initialised; the xarray RCU publish then pairs with the rcu_read_lock()/xa_load() in the datapath. Note: macsec_del_rxsc_ctx() also kfree()s rx_sc->sc_xarray_element without an RCU grace period while the same datapath reads it under rcu_read_lock(); that is a separate pre-existing issue left to a follow-up patch. Found by 0sec automated security-research tooling (https://0sec.ai).
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.