HighCVE-2026-99139

    Linux Kernel: Use-After-Free (CVE-2026-99139)

    Published Last modified Sources: Debian, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org, BSI

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    What is affected, what to do

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: fix use-after-free in do_tcp_getsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION) do_tcp_getsockopt() reads icsk->icsk_ca_ops->name without holding rcu_read_lock(). Since commit 0baf26b0fcd7 ("bpf: tcp: Support tcp_congestion_ops in bpf"), icsk_ca_ops can point to dynamically allocated BPF struct_ops memory that may be freed concurrently via setsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION), leading to a use-after-free.

    Update Linux Kernel to version 6.1.191, Linux Kernel to version 6.6.161, Linux Kernel to version 6.12.115.

    Affected
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.6..6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.2..6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.7..6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.13..6.18.59
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.19..7.2.13
    Fixed in
    • Linux Kernel 6.1.191
    • Linux Kernel 6.6.161
    • Linux Kernel 6.12.115
    • Linux Kernel 6.18.59
    • Linux Kernel 7.2.13
    • Linux Kernel 7.3

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    7.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    7.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Debian, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org, BSI

    0.2 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 6.8

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    69.37 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    7.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.2 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    6.8
    Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: fix use-after-free in do_tcp_getsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION) do_tcp_getsockopt() reads icsk->icsk_ca_ops->name without holding rcu_read_lock(). Since commit 0baf26b0fcd7 ("bpf: tcp: Support tcp_congestion_ops in bpf"), icsk_ca_ops can point to dynamically allocated BPF struct_ops memory that may be freed concurrently via setsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION), leading to a use-after-free. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in _copy_to_user+0x37/0x60 Read of size 16 at addr ffff888013505260 by task exploit/149 _copy_to_user+0x37/0x60 do_tcp_getsockopt+0x158a/0x2460 (net/ipv4/tcp.c:4585) tcp_getsockopt+0x91/0xf0 __sys_getsockopt+0xf7/0x170 Fix this by holding rcu_read_lock() around the ca_ops->name access, using READ_ONCE() to load icsk_ca_ops, and copying the name to a stack buffer before releasing the lock. Also annotate the relevant icsk_ca_ops stores with WRITE_ONCE() to fix the accompanying KCSAN data-race issue.

    Source: Debian Security Advisories, Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    LinuxLinux
    • 6.7 – < 6.12.115
    • 5.6 – < 6.1.191
    • 6.19 – < 7.2.13
    • 6.13 – < 6.18.59
    • —
    • 6.2 – < 6.6.161
    • 6.12.115
    • 6.1.191
    • 7.2.13
    • 6.18.59
    • 7.3
    • 6.6.161

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianlinuxtrixie

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedLinux

      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99139.json">CVE-2026-99139</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08dc5c62c09653d1c4ba67a009beb138486c2604
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b0930d66dde0a1d1898f0edbbb5496c4dfa5f03
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a60e62705c17534d6b6539de7b3a40c259e6827f

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    2. ReceivedLinux

      Description added or changed

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: fix use-after-free in do_tcp_getsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION) do_tcp_getsockopt() reads icsk->icsk_ca_ops->name without holding rcu_read_lock(). Since commit 0baf26b0fcd7 ("bpf: tcp: Support tcp_congestion_ops in bpf"), icsk_ca_ops can point to dynamically allocated BPF struct_ops memory that may be freed concurrently via setsockopt(TCP_CONGESTION), leading to a use-after-free. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in _copy_to_user+0x37/0x60 Read of size 16 at addr ffff888013505260 by task exploit/149 _copy_to_user+0x37/0x60 do_tcp_getsockopt+0x158a/0x2460 (net/ipv4/tcp.c:4585) tcp_getsockopt+0x91/0xf0 __sys_getsockopt+0xf7/0x170 Fix this by holding rcu_read_lock() around the ca_ops->name access, using READ_ONCE() to load icsk_ca_ops, and copying the name to a stack buffer before releasing the lock. Also annotate the relevant icsk_ca_ops stores with WRITE_ONCE() to fix the accompanying KCSAN data-race issue.
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99139.json">CVE-2026-99139</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5271b79b7ad68dcb222e893773f92bdabf7750f3
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8e45471afa230c1431c26c8e99ec24377e3b514
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1804ef016392dd91267d2207ee43b1de34302ca

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

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