CVE-2026-23120 | l2tp: avoid one data-race in l2tp_tunnel_del_work()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: l2tp: avoid one data-race in l2tp_tunnel_del_work() We should read sk->sk_socket only when dealing with kernel sockets. syzbot reported the following data-race: BUG: KCSAN: data-race in l2tp_tunnel_del_work / sk_common_release write to 0xffff88811c182b20 of 8 bytes by task 5365 on cpu 0: sk_set_socket include/net/sock.h:2092 [inline] sock_orphan include/net/sock.h:2118 [inline] sk_common_release+0xae/0x230 net/core/sock.c:4003 udp_lib_close+0x15/0x20 include/net/udp.h:325 inet_release+0xce/0xf0 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:437 __sock_release net/socket.c:662 [inline] sock_close+0x6b/0x150 net/socket.c:1455 __fput+0x29b/0x650 fs/file_table.c:468 ____fput+0x1c/0x30 fs/file_table.c:496 task_work_run+0x131/0x1a0 kernel/task_work.c:233 resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:50 [inline] __exit_to_user_mode_loop kernel/entry/common.c:44 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_loop+0x1fe/0x740 kernel/entry/common.c:75 __exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:226 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:256 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work include/linux/entry-common.h:159 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode include/linux/entry-common.h:194 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x1e1/0x2b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f read to 0xffff88811c182b20 of 8 bytes by task 827 on cpu 1: l2tp_tunnel_del_work+0x2f/0x1a0 net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1418 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3257 [inline] process_scheduled_works+0x4ce/0x9d0 kernel/workqueue.c:3340 worker_thread+0x582/0x770 kernel/workqueue.c:3421 kthread+0x489/0x510 kernel/kthread.c:463 ret_from_fork+0x149/0x290 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:246 value changed: 0xffff88811b818000 -> 0x0000000000000000

Published: 2026-02-14 Last update: 2026-03-18 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-23120 is rated Low Risk (24.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-23120

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-02-15 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-23120

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-23120

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-23120

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-23120 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-23120
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23120
suse medium CVE-2026-23120 severity moderate: SUSE including 62 source package names (2.1.3-6.144:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-41.1.21.18, 2.1.3-7.127:kernel-default-6.4.0-41.1, …), 86 product×package rows across 20 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (20 product lines)): First Fixed 53, Fixed 20, Known Not Affected 13. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23120/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-23120 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 170, released 102, needed 89, pending 16, not-affected 8. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23120

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-23120

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 3.16.57, < 3.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15.8, < 4.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.16.1, < 5.10.249 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.199 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.162 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.122 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.68 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.16:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-23120

cvelogic Threat Intelligence