In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
serial: caif: fix use-after-free in caif_serial ldisc_close()
There is a use-after-free bug in caif_serial where handle_tx() may
access ser->tty after the tty has been freed.
The race condition occurs between ldisc_close() and packet transmission:
CPU 0 (close) CPU 1 (xmit)
------------- ------------
ldisc_close()
tty_kref_put(ser->tty)
[tty may be freed here]
<-- race window -->
caif_xmit()
handle_tx()
tty = ser->tty // dangling ptr
tty->ops->write() // UAF!
schedule_work()
ser_release()
unregister_netdevice()
The root cause is that tty_kref_put() is called in ldisc_close() while
the network device is still active and can receive packets.
Since ser and tty have a 1:1 binding relationship with consistent
lifecycles (ser is allocated in ldisc_open and freed in ser_release
via unregister_netdevice, and each ser binds exactly one tty), we can
safely defer the tty reference release to ser_release() where the
network device is unregistered.
Fix this by moving tty_kref_put() from ldisc_close() to ser_release(),
after unregister_netdevice(). This ensures the tty reference is held
as long as the network device exists, preventing the UAF.
Note: We save ser->tty before unregister_netdevice() because ser is
embedded in netdev's private data and will be freed along with netdev
(needs_free_netdev = true).
How to reproduce: Add mdelay(500) at the beginning of ldisc_close()
to widen the race window, then run the reproducer program [1].
Note: There is a separate deadloop issue in handle_tx() when using
PORT_UNKNOWN serial ports (e.g., /dev/ttyS3 in QEMU without proper
serial backend). This deadloop exists even without this patch,
and is likely caused by inconsistency between uart_write_room() and
uart_write() in serial core. It has been addressed in a separate
patch [2].
KASAN report:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620
Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881131e1490 by task caif_uaf_trigge/9929
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x10e/0x1f0
print_report+0xd0/0x630
kasan_report+0xe4/0x120
handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620
dev_hard_start_xmit+0x9d/0x6c0
__dev_queue_xmit+0x6e2/0x4410
packet_xmit+0x243/0x360
packet_sendmsg+0x26cf/0x5500
__sys_sendto+0x4a3/0x520
__x64_sys_sendto+0xe0/0x1c0
do_syscall_64+0xc9/0xf80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7f615df2c0d7
Allocated by task 9930:
Freed by task 64:
Last potentially related work creation:
The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff8881131e1000
which belongs to the cache kmalloc-cg-2k of size 2048
The buggy address is located 1168 bytes inside of
freed 2048-byte region [ffff8881131e1000, ffff8881131e1800)
The buggy address belongs to the physical page:
page_owner tracks the page as allocated
page last free pid 9778 tgid 9778 stack trace:
Memory state around the buggy address:
ffff8881131e1380: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
ffff8881131e1400: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
>ffff8881131e1480: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
^
ffff8881131e1500: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
ffff8881131e1580: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
==================================================================
[1]: https://gist.github.com/mrpre/f683f244544f7b11e7fa87df9e6c2eeb
[2]: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-serial/20260204074327.226165-1-jiayuan.chen@linux.dev/T/#u
serial: caif: fix use-after-free in caif_serial ldisc_close()
There is a use-after-free bug in caif_serial where handle_tx() may
access ser->tty after the tty has been freed.
The race condition occurs between ldisc_close() and packet transmission:
CPU 0 (close) CPU 1 (xmit)
------------- ------------
ldisc_close()
tty_kref_put(ser->tty)
[tty may be freed here]
<-- race window -->
caif_xmit()
handle_tx()
tty = ser->tty // dangling ptr
tty->ops->write() // UAF!
schedule_work()
ser_release()
unregister_netdevice()
The root cause is that tty_kref_put() is called in ldisc_close() while
the network device is still active and can receive packets.
Since ser and tty have a 1:1 binding relationship with consistent
lifecycles (ser is allocated in ldisc_open and freed in ser_release
via unregister_netdevice, and each ser binds exactly one tty), we can
safely defer the tty reference release to ser_release() where the
network device is unregistered.
Fix this by moving tty_kref_put() from ldisc_close() to ser_release(),
after unregister_netdevice(). This ensures the tty reference is held
as long as the network device exists, preventing the UAF.
Note: We save ser->tty before unregister_netdevice() because ser is
embedded in netdev's private data and will be freed along with netdev
(needs_free_netdev = true).
How to reproduce: Add mdelay(500) at the beginning of ldisc_close()
to widen the race window, then run the reproducer program [1].
Note: There is a separate deadloop issue in handle_tx() when using
PORT_UNKNOWN serial ports (e.g., /dev/ttyS3 in QEMU without proper
serial backend). This deadloop exists even without this patch,
and is likely caused by inconsistency between uart_write_room() and
uart_write() in serial core. It has been addressed in a separate
patch [2].
KASAN report:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620
Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881131e1490 by task caif_uaf_trigge/9929
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x10e/0x1f0
print_report+0xd0/0x630
kasan_report+0xe4/0x120
handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620
dev_hard_start_xmit+0x9d/0x6c0
__dev_queue_xmit+0x6e2/0x4410
packet_xmit+0x243/0x360
packet_sendmsg+0x26cf/0x5500
__sys_sendto+0x4a3/0x520
__x64_sys_sendto+0xe0/0x1c0
do_syscall_64+0xc9/0xf80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7f615df2c0d7
Allocated by task 9930:
Freed by task 64:
Last potentially related work creation:
The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff8881131e1000
which belongs to the cache kmalloc-cg-2k of size 2048
The buggy address is located 1168 bytes inside of
freed 2048-byte region [ffff8881131e1000, ffff8881131e1800)
The buggy address belongs to the physical page:
page_owner tracks the page as allocated
page last free pid 9778 tgid 9778 stack trace:
Memory state around the buggy address:
ffff8881131e1380: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
ffff8881131e1400: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
>ffff8881131e1480: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
^
ffff8881131e1500: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
ffff8881131e1580: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
==================================================================
[1]: https://gist.github.com/mrpre/f683f244544f7b11e7fa87df9e6c2eeb
[2]: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-serial/20260204074327.226165-1-jiayuan.chen@linux.dev/T/#u
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
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Fixes
Solution
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Workaround
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References
History
Wed, 27 May 2026 16:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-416 |
Wed, 27 May 2026 14:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: caif: fix use-after-free in caif_serial ldisc_close() There is a use-after-free bug in caif_serial where handle_tx() may access ser->tty after the tty has been freed. The race condition occurs between ldisc_close() and packet transmission: CPU 0 (close) CPU 1 (xmit) ------------- ------------ ldisc_close() tty_kref_put(ser->tty) [tty may be freed here] <-- race window --> caif_xmit() handle_tx() tty = ser->tty // dangling ptr tty->ops->write() // UAF! schedule_work() ser_release() unregister_netdevice() The root cause is that tty_kref_put() is called in ldisc_close() while the network device is still active and can receive packets. Since ser and tty have a 1:1 binding relationship with consistent lifecycles (ser is allocated in ldisc_open and freed in ser_release via unregister_netdevice, and each ser binds exactly one tty), we can safely defer the tty reference release to ser_release() where the network device is unregistered. Fix this by moving tty_kref_put() from ldisc_close() to ser_release(), after unregister_netdevice(). This ensures the tty reference is held as long as the network device exists, preventing the UAF. Note: We save ser->tty before unregister_netdevice() because ser is embedded in netdev's private data and will be freed along with netdev (needs_free_netdev = true). How to reproduce: Add mdelay(500) at the beginning of ldisc_close() to widen the race window, then run the reproducer program [1]. Note: There is a separate deadloop issue in handle_tx() when using PORT_UNKNOWN serial ports (e.g., /dev/ttyS3 in QEMU without proper serial backend). This deadloop exists even without this patch, and is likely caused by inconsistency between uart_write_room() and uart_write() in serial core. It has been addressed in a separate patch [2]. KASAN report: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620 Read of size 1 at addr ffff8881131e1490 by task caif_uaf_trigge/9929 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x10e/0x1f0 print_report+0xd0/0x630 kasan_report+0xe4/0x120 handle_tx+0x5d1/0x620 dev_hard_start_xmit+0x9d/0x6c0 __dev_queue_xmit+0x6e2/0x4410 packet_xmit+0x243/0x360 packet_sendmsg+0x26cf/0x5500 __sys_sendto+0x4a3/0x520 __x64_sys_sendto+0xe0/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0xc9/0xf80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f615df2c0d7 Allocated by task 9930: Freed by task 64: Last potentially related work creation: The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff8881131e1000 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-cg-2k of size 2048 The buggy address is located 1168 bytes inside of freed 2048-byte region [ffff8881131e1000, ffff8881131e1800) The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page_owner tracks the page as allocated page last free pid 9778 tgid 9778 stack trace: Memory state around the buggy address: ffff8881131e1380: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ffff8881131e1400: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb >ffff8881131e1480: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ^ ffff8881131e1500: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ffff8881131e1580: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ================================================================== [1]: https://gist.github.com/mrpre/f683f244544f7b11e7fa87df9e6c2eeb [2]: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-serial/20260204074327.226165-1-jiayuan.chen@linux.dev/T/#u | |
| Title | serial: caif: fix use-after-free in caif_serial ldisc_close() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-27T12:15:46.135Z
Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.080Z
Link: CVE-2026-45866
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2026-05-27T14:16:58.963
Modified: 2026-05-27T14:48:31.480
Link: CVE-2026-45866
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-05-27T16:45:37Z
Weaknesses