CVE-2026-74512

high

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: fix potential use-after-free in audit_del_rule() `audit_del_rule()` destroys `e->rule.exe` via `audit_remove_mark_rule()` before unlinking the rule from RCU-visible filter lists and waiting for a grace period. Concurrent readers in `audit_filter()` and `audit_filter_rules()` still dereference `e->rule.exe`, while the fsnotify mark can be freed on an independent lifetime path. This creates a use-after-free window during rule deletion. Fix this by unlinking the rule from the RCU-visible lists and invoking `synchronize_rcu()` before calling `audit_remove_mark_rule()` (and other rule removal helpers). This ensures that all existing RCU readers have exited the critical section before any underlying resources are destroyed.

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cae0dfed5d307b240bff71c3cf206652d1b6f215

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93616c567469510b7bba55b2674e0c4523fd7e64

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ae135a8962be9d4e8a131eb18eb06cdf02a47ce

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/78bde7e9bd36eaae1b8e8cfcd47f12a34f301dbf

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b8f46864f06d6dbacb7dcea52bc084dfd122638

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45bf3df5b32e5a49953e7ceabc55f7dd85380e46

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f82927b399d7a276c0c12b6ff4424b747a0c9a7

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/246df90b5f1a8a6e6abbd2f058b029558720adec

Details

Source: Mitre, NVD

Published: 2026-08-15

Updated: 2026-08-19

Risk Information

CVSS v2

Base Score: 6.8

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

Severity: Medium

CVSS v3

Base Score: 7.8

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

Severity: High

EPSS

EPSS: 0.00168