In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock()
rt_spin_unlock() releases the RCU protection before unlocking the
lock. That opens the door for the following UAF scenario:
T1 T2
spin_lock(&p->lock); rcu_read_lock();
invalidate(p); p = rcu_dereference(ptr);
rcu_assign_pointer(ptr, NULL); if (!p) return;
spin_unlock(&p->lock); spin_lock(&p->lock)
lock(&lock->lock);
rcu_read_lock();
kfree_rcu(p); rcu_read_unlock();
....
spin_unlock(&p->lock)
rcu_read_unlock(); // Ends grace period
rcu_do_batch()
kfree(p);
UAF -> rt_mutex_cmpxchg_release(&lock->lock...)
Regular spinlocks keep preemption disabled accross the unlock operation,
which provides full RCU protection, but the RT substitution fails to
resemble that. Same applies for the rwlock substitution.
Move the rcu_read_unlock() invocation past the unlock operations to match
the non-RT semantics. This makes it asymmetric vs. rt_xxx_lock(), but
that's harmless as the caller needs to hold RCU read lock across the lock
operation. The migrate_enable() call stays before the unlock operation
because there is no per CPU operation in the unlock path which would
require migration to be kept disabled.
locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock()
rt_spin_unlock() releases the RCU protection before unlocking the
lock. That opens the door for the following UAF scenario:
T1 T2
spin_lock(&p->lock); rcu_read_lock();
invalidate(p); p = rcu_dereference(ptr);
rcu_assign_pointer(ptr, NULL); if (!p) return;
spin_unlock(&p->lock); spin_lock(&p->lock)
lock(&lock->lock);
rcu_read_lock();
kfree_rcu(p); rcu_read_unlock();
....
spin_unlock(&p->lock)
rcu_read_unlock(); // Ends grace period
rcu_do_batch()
kfree(p);
UAF -> rt_mutex_cmpxchg_release(&lock->lock...)
Regular spinlocks keep preemption disabled accross the unlock operation,
which provides full RCU protection, but the RT substitution fails to
resemble that. Same applies for the rwlock substitution.
Move the rcu_read_unlock() invocation past the unlock operations to match
the non-RT semantics. This makes it asymmetric vs. rt_xxx_lock(), but
that's harmless as the caller needs to hold RCU read lock across the lock
operation. The migrate_enable() call stays before the unlock operation
because there is no per CPU operation in the unlock path which would
require migration to be kept disabled.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock() rt_spin_unlock() releases the RCU protection before unlocking the lock. That opens the door for the following UAF scenario: T1 T2 spin_lock(&p->lock); rcu_read_lock(); invalidate(p); p = rcu_dereference(ptr); rcu_assign_pointer(ptr, NULL); if (!p) return; spin_unlock(&p->lock); spin_lock(&p->lock) lock(&lock->lock); rcu_read_lock(); kfree_rcu(p); rcu_read_unlock(); .... spin_unlock(&p->lock) rcu_read_unlock(); // Ends grace period rcu_do_batch() kfree(p); UAF -> rt_mutex_cmpxchg_release(&lock->lock...) Regular spinlocks keep preemption disabled accross the unlock operation, which provides full RCU protection, but the RT substitution fails to resemble that. Same applies for the rwlock substitution. Move the rcu_read_unlock() invocation past the unlock operations to match the non-RT semantics. This makes it asymmetric vs. rt_xxx_lock(), but that's harmless as the caller needs to hold RCU read lock across the lock operation. The migrate_enable() call stays before the unlock operation because there is no per CPU operation in the unlock path which would require migration to be kept disabled. | |
| Title | locking/rt: Fix the incorrect RCU protection in rt_spin_unlock() | |
| 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: 2026-08-15T05:52:21.752Z
Reserved: 2026-08-09T03:40:39.903Z
Link: CVE-2026-72069
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-08-15T06:21:16.607
Modified: 2026-08-15T06:21:16.607
Link: CVE-2026-72069
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.