CVE-2026-23460
net/rose: fix NULL pointer dereference in rose_transmit_link on reconnect
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/rose: fix NULL pointer dereference in rose_transmit_link on reconnect syzkaller reported a bug [1], and the reproducer is available at [2]. ROSE sockets use four sk->sk_state values: TCP_CLOSE, TCP_LISTEN, TCP_SYN_SENT, and TCP_ESTABLISHED. rose_connect() already rejects calls for TCP_ESTABLISHED (-EISCONN) and TCP_CLOSE with SS_CONNECTING (-ECONNREFUSED), but lacks a check for TCP_SYN_SENT. When rose_connect() is called a second time while the first connection attempt is still in progress (TCP_SYN_SENT), it overwrites rose->neighbour via rose_get_neigh(). If that returns NULL, the socket is left with rose->state == ROSE_STATE_1 but rose->neighbour == NULL. When the socket is subsequently closed, rose_release() sees ROSE_STATE_1 and calls rose_write_internal() -> rose_transmit_link(skb, NULL), causing a NULL pointer dereference. Per connect(2), a second connect() while a connection is already in progress should return -EALREADY. Add this missing check for TCP_SYN_SENT to complete the state validation in rose_connect(). [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=d00f90e0af54102fb271 [2] https://gist.github.com/mrpre/9e6779e0d13e2c66779b1653fef80516
INFO
Published Date :
April 3, 2026, 4:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
April 3, 2026, 4:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-23460
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel.
- Apply the relevant security patch.
- Validate socket states in rose_connect().
- Return -EALREADY for existing connection attempts.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-23460.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-23460 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-23460
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-23460 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-23460 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Apr. 03, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/rose: fix NULL pointer dereference in rose_transmit_link on reconnect syzkaller reported a bug [1], and the reproducer is available at [2]. ROSE sockets use four sk->sk_state values: TCP_CLOSE, TCP_LISTEN, TCP_SYN_SENT, and TCP_ESTABLISHED. rose_connect() already rejects calls for TCP_ESTABLISHED (-EISCONN) and TCP_CLOSE with SS_CONNECTING (-ECONNREFUSED), but lacks a check for TCP_SYN_SENT. When rose_connect() is called a second time while the first connection attempt is still in progress (TCP_SYN_SENT), it overwrites rose->neighbour via rose_get_neigh(). If that returns NULL, the socket is left with rose->state == ROSE_STATE_1 but rose->neighbour == NULL. When the socket is subsequently closed, rose_release() sees ROSE_STATE_1 and calls rose_write_internal() -> rose_transmit_link(skb, NULL), causing a NULL pointer dereference. Per connect(2), a second connect() while a connection is already in progress should return -EALREADY. Add this missing check for TCP_SYN_SENT to complete the state validation in rose_connect(). [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=d00f90e0af54102fb271 [2] https://gist.github.com/mrpre/9e6779e0d13e2c66779b1653fef80516 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c3e8bff808f17ad37a51d8e719eed22c7863120 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c9fb70a206a8734e10468ecc24d57c7596cf64e Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/508f49ccbe0329641bb681f7d0052bb4e5943252 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a12254050e3050f1011cd24f3b880a6882d0139d Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2ab74c12932e52cfa1e7e4582d42b0c8bec96c7 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1f0a18c9564cdb16523c802e2c6fe5874e3d944