CVE-2026-23273: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: macvlan: observe an RCU grace period in macvlan_common

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: macvlan: observe an RCU grace period in macvlan_common_newlink() error path valis reported

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: macvlan: observe an RCU grace period in macvlan_common_newlink() error path valis reported that a race condition still happens after my prior patch. macvlan_common_newlink() might have made @dev visible before detecting an error, and its caller will directly call free_netdev(dev). We must respect an RCU period, either in macvlan or the core networking stack. After adding a temporary mdelay(1000) in macvlan_forward_source_one() to open the race window, valis repro was: ip link add p1 type veth peer p2 ip link set address 00:00:00:00:00:20 dev p1 ip link set up dev p1 ip link set up dev p2 ip link add mv0 link p2 type macvlan mode source (ip link add invalid% link p2 type macvlan mode source macaddr add 00:00:00:00:00:20 &) ; sleep 0.5 ; ping -c1 -I p1 1.2.3.4 PING 1.2.3.4 (1.2.3.4): 56 data bytes RTNETLINK answers: Invalid argument BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in macvlan_forward_source (drivers/net/macvlan.c:408 drivers/net/macvlan.c:444) Read of size 8 at addr ffff888016bb89c0 by task e/175 CPU: 1 UID: 1000 PID: 175 Comm: e Not tainted 6.19.0-rc8+ #33 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX,

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.13%, higher than 2% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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