CVE-2026-72071

tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()

State
Published
Severity
7.8 High
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 17, 2026
Reserved
Aug 9, 2026

Read the record on cve.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()

user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex:

rcu_read_lock(); list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link) enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event);

user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler with kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu() can still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees:

- kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences enabler->event.

- user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it.

Both are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data: one multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently unregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a slab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning when the user_event is freed.

The enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported by XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it.

Defer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item queued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period, once all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run in process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last reference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked put lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed; all callers are updated.

Scores

CVSSScoreVectorSource
3.17.8 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HLinux

Weaknesses

The record names no weakness.

Affected Products

ProductVersions
LinuxLinux
  • 7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279 to before 25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68Affected
  • 7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279 to before 95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95Affected
  • 7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279 to before b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669Affected
  • 7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279 to before 05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6Affected
  • 7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279 to before 50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2Affected
LinuxLinux
  • 6.4Affected
  • before 6.4Not affected
  • 6.6.148 through 6.6.*Not affected
  • 6.12.97 through 6.12.*Not affected
  • 6.18.40 through 6.18.*Not affected
  • 7.1.5 through 7.1.*Not affected
  • 7.2 and laterNot affected

References

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