Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local low-priv user (AV:L/PR:L), but winning a kernel race plus a userfaultfd sleep primitive makes it high-complexity (AC:H); UAF yields full kernel memory-corruption impact (C/I/A:H).
Primary rating from Vendor (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67).
CVSS VectorVendor: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
l2tp: pppol2tp: hold reference to session in pppol2tp_ioctl()
pppol2tp_ioctl() read sock->sk->sk_user_data directly without any locks or reference counting. If a controllable sleep was induced during copy_from_user() (e.g. via a userfaultfd page fault sleep), a concurrent socket close could trigger pppol2tp_session_close() asynchronously. This frees the l2tp_session structure via the l2tp_session_del_work workqueue. Upon resuming, the ioctl thread dereferences the stale session pointer, resulting in a Use-After-Free (UAF).
Fix this by securely fetching the session reference using the RCU-safe, refcounted helper pppol2tp_sock_to_session(sk) on entry. This locks the session's refcount across the sleep. We structured the function to exit via standard err breaks, guaranteeing that l2tp_session_put() is cleanly called on all return paths to drop the reference.
To preserve existing behavior we validate the session and its magic signature only for the specific L2TP commands that require it. This ensures that generic/unknown ioctls called on an unconnected socket still return -ENOIOCTLCMD and correctly fall back to generic handlers (e.g. in sock_do_ioctl()).
AnalysisAI
Local privilege escalation via use-after-free in the Linux kernel's L2TP PPP (pppol2tp) subsystem allows a low-privileged local user holding a pppol2tp socket to corrupt freed kernel memory. The flaw is a race in pppol2tp_ioctl(), where sk_user_data was dereferenced without reference counting; an attacker stalls the ioctl mid-copy (e.g. …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Requires local code execution as an unprivileged user (PR:L) who can open a PPPoL2TP (AF_PPPOX / PX_PROTO_OL2TP) socket, meaning the l2tp_ppp module must be loaded or autoloadable. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, score 7.8) reflects a high-impact local flaw, and the impact triad is consistent with a kernel UAF that can yield memory corruption and likely privilege escalation. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | A low-privileged local user opens a PPPoL2TP socket and invokes an ioctl whose argument buffer is backed by a userfaultfd-registered page, stalling the kernel inside copy_from_user(). From a second thread they close the socket, triggering asynchronous free of the l2tp_session; when the ioctl resumes it dereferences the freed object, giving a use-after-free that can be groomed toward kernel memory corruption and privilege escalation. … |
| Remediation | Apply the vendor-released patch by upgrading to a fixed stable kernel - 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13, or 7.1 or later - or install your distribution's backported kernel update referencing CVE-2026-53262; the upstream fix is in commits at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62f327e287cf7b595ae3f73ba72f5cd2a9e9f39f and the related stable commits. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours: Query infrastructure to identify Linux systems with L2TP (pppol2tp kernel module) active, particularly those supporting untrusted or shared local user access. …
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-39213
GHSA-5xjr-h8mp-chfc