Vulnerability · Published Apr 17, 2025 · Assigned by Linux

CVE-2020-36789can: dev: can_get_echo_skb(): prevent call to kfree_skb() in hard IRQ context

Medium 5.5

In plain English

A medium-severity null pointer dereference in Linux from Linux. There are no confirmed reports of exploitation so far. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 9% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.

Severity (CVSS 3.1)5.5Medium
Exploit odds (30 days)0.2%top 91.3% of all CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo reportsCISA SSVC: none
Attack toolingNoneno public tooling known

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: can: dev: can_get_echo_skb(): prevent call to kfree_skb() in hard IRQ context If a driver calls can_get_echo_skb() during a hardware IRQ (which is often, but not always, the case), the 'WARN_ON(in_irq)' in net/core/skbuff.c#skb_release_head_state() might be triggered, under network congestion circumstances, together with the potential risk of a NULL pointer dereference. The root cause of this issue is the call to kfree_skb() instead of dev_kfree_skb_irq() in net/core/dev.c#enqueue_to_backlog(). This patch prevents the skb to be freed within the call to netif_rx() by incrementing its reference count with skb_get(). The skb is finally freed by one of the in-irq-context safe functions: dev_consume_skb_any() or dev_kfree_skb_any(). The "any" version is used because some drivers might call can_get_echo_skb() in a normal context. The reason for this issue to occur is that initially, in the core network stack, loopback skb were not supposed to be received in hardware IRQ context. The CAN stack is an exeption. This bug was previously reported back in 2017 in [1] but the proposed patch never got accepted. While [1] directly modifies net/core/dev.c, we try to propose here a smoother modification local to CAN network stack (the assumption behind is that only CAN devices are affected by this issue). [1] http://lore.kernel.org/r/57a3ffb6-3309-3ad5-5a34-e93c3fe3614d@cetitec.com

Affected packages & fixed versions

EcosystemPackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian:12linux5.9.9-1DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36789
Debian:13linux5.9.9-1DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36789
Debian:14linux5.9.9-1DEBIAN-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-allwinner-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-aws-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-azure-fde-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-gcp-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-intel-iot-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-nvidia-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-5.17no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.0no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.1no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oem-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-oracle-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-raspi-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:24.04:LTSlinux-realtimeno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscvno fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-riscv-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-5.19no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.2no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789
Ubuntu:22.04:LTSlinux-starfive-6.5no fix listedUBUNTU-CVE-2020-36789

Affected products (as reported)

VendorProductVersions
Linux Linux 39549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 248b71ce92d4f3a574b2537f9838f48e892618f439549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 451187b20431924d13fcfecc500d7cd2d9951bac39549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 3a922a85701939624484e7f2fd07d32beed00d2539549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 7e4cf2ec0ca236c3e5f904239cec6efe1f3baf2239549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before ab46748bf98864f9c3f5559060bf8caf9df2b41e39549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 87530b557affe01c764de32dbeb58cdf4723457439549eef3587f1c1e8c65c88a2400d10fd30ea17 – before 2283f79b22684d2812e5c76fc2280aae00390365
Linux Linux 2.6.31

Weakness: CWE-476 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References