Vulnerability · Published May 27, 2026 · Assigned by Linux
CVE-2026-45918ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close()
Medium 5.5
In plain English
A medium-severity security flaw 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 6% of all known vulnerabilities). Fixed versions are available - upgrade the affected package.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: tcp - don't deref NULL sk_socket member after tcp_close() When deleting a peer in case of keepalive expiration, the peer is removed from the OpenVPN hashtable and is temporary inserted in a "release list" for further processing. This happens in: ovpn_peer_keepalive_work() unlock_ovpn(release_list) This processing includes detaching from the socket being used to talk to this peer, by restoring its original proto and socket ops/callbacks. In case of TCP it may happen that, while the peer is sitting in the release list, userspace decides to close the socket. This will result in a concurrent execution of: tcp_close(sk) __tcp_close(sk) sock_orphan(sk) sk_set_socket(sk, NULL) The last function call will set sk->sk_socket to NULL. When the releasing routine is resumed, ovpn_tcp_socket_detach() will attempt to dereference sk->sk_socket to restore its original ops member. This operation will crash due to sk->sk_socket being NULL. Fix this race condition by testing-and-accessing sk->sk_socket atomically under sk->sk_callback_lock.
Affected packages & fixed versions
| Ecosystem | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | 6.18.14-1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-allwinner-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-aws | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-aws-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-azure | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-azure-fde | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-gcp | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-gcp-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-intel-iot-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-nvidia-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-5.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.0 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.1 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-oracle | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-oracle-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-raspi | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-realtime | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:25.10 | linux-riscv | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:24.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.17 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-riscv-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-5.19 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.2 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
| Ubuntu:22.04:LTS | linux-starfive-6.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45918 |
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 11851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 – before f998b2c4bec487063a586695159f9a1856e81c5611851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 – before b9142cf4e066c825ec68752a7dcaceda700bbe2611851cbd60ea1e5abbd97619d69845ead99303d6 – before 94560267d6c41b1ff3fafbab726e3f8a55a6af34 |
| Linux | Linux | 6.16 |