In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv4: igmp: Fix potential UAF in igmp_gq_start_timer()
A race condition exists between device teardown (inetdev_destroy) and
incoming IGMP query processing (igmp_rcv), leading to a Use-After-Free
in the IGMP timer callback.
During device destruction, inetdev_destroy() drops the primary reference
to in_device, which can drop its refcount to 0. The actual freeing of
in_device memory is deferred via RCU (using call_rcu()).
Concurrently, igmp_rcv() runs under RCU read lock and obtains the
in_device pointer. Because the memory is RCU-protected, CPU-0 can safely
dereference in_device even if its refcount has hit 0.
However, if CPU-0 calls igmp_gq_start_timer() and re-arms the timer, it
attempts to acquire a reference using in_dev_hold(). This increments the
refcount from 0 to 1, triggering a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning.
Since the in_device memory is still scheduled to be freed after the RCU
grace period (as the free callback does not check the refcount again),
the device is freed while the timer is still armed. When the timer
expires, it accesses the freed memory, causing a kernel panic.
Fix this by using refcount_inc_not_zero() (via a new helper
in_dev_hold_safe()) to prevent acquiring a reference if the device is
already being destroyed. If the refcount is 0, we do not arm the timer.
A similar issue in IPv6 MLD is fixed in a subsequent patch.
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 9.8
AV:N - The bug is reached from igmp_rcv(), registered as the IPPROTO_IGMP handler and invoked via ip_rcv → ip_local_deliver → ip_protocol_deliver_rcu() on received IPv4 packets; per kernel guidance, net/ stack flaws triggered by inbound packets are scored Network even when practical reachability is typically same-subnet.
AC:L - An attacker controls both race sides: flooding IGMP general membership queries while concurrently deleting/tearing down the target netdev (e.g., veth in a user/net namespace, container CNI teardown, or parallel RTNETLINK unregister), and can retry until the timer is re-armed after ip_mc_down() during inetdev_destroy().
PR:N - IGMP query processing has no authentication or capability checks on the receive path; any host that can deliver IPPROTO_IGMP packets to the interface can trigger igmp_heard_query() → igmp_gq_start_timer(), and concurrent interface destruction is normal system/orchestrator activity rather than attacker privilege on the victim.
UI:N - Exploitation requires only attacker-sent IGMP packets timed against interface teardown; no victim must open files, click links, mount filesystems, or take any deliberate action beyond routine network interface lifecycle events.
S:U - The use-after-free corrupts kernel heap memory within the same host kernel security authority; it is a standard in-kernel memory corruption issue, not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or other cross-boundary scope change.
C:H - This is a use-after-free of struct in_device: igmp_gq_timer_expire() dereferences freed memory and calls igmpv3_send_report(), enabling disclosure of reallocated slab contents and arbitrary kernel memory read primitives via heap grooming.
I:H - The UAF arms mr_gq_timer on a freed in_device and the expiry handler writes through dangling pointers (mr_gq_running, igmpv3_send_report paths), providing attacker-influenced heap corruption that can be developed into arbitrary kernel write and privilege escalation.
A:H - The fix commit states the timer callback accesses freed in_device memory and causes kernel panic; UAF on a timer-armed netdev structure is a reliable oops/panic and repeatable DoS, and can be retriggered by continued IGMP query flooding during interface churn.
| Attack Vector |
Network |
Scope |
Unchanged |
| Attack Complexity |
Low |
Confidentiality Impact |
High |
| Privileges Required |
None |
Integrity Impact |
High |
| User Interaction |
None |
Availability Impact |
High |
AV:N - The bug is reached from igmp_rcv(), registered as the IPPROTO_IGMP handler and invoked via ip_rcv → ip_local_deliver → ip_protocol_deliver_rcu() on received IPv4 packets; per kernel guidance, net/ stack flaws triggered by inbound packets are scored Network even when practical reachability is typically same-subnet.
AC:L - An attacker controls both race sides: flooding IGMP general membership queries while concurrently deleting/tearing down the target netdev (e.g., veth in a user/net namespace, container CNI teardown, or parallel RTNETLINK unregister), and can retry until the timer is re-armed after ip_mc_down() during inetdev_destroy().
PR:N - IGMP query processing has no authentication or capability checks on the receive path; any host that can deliver IPPROTO_IGMP packets to the interface can trigger igmp_heard_query() → igmp_gq_start_timer(), and concurrent interface destruction is normal system/orchestrator activity rather than attacker privilege on the victim.
UI:N - Exploitation requires only attacker-sent IGMP packets timed against interface teardown; no victim must open files, click links, mount filesystems, or take any deliberate action beyond routine network interface lifecycle events.
S:U - The use-after-free corrupts kernel heap memory within the same host kernel security authority; it is a standard in-kernel memory corruption issue, not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or other cross-boundary scope change.
C:H - This is a use-after-free of struct in_device: igmp_gq_timer_expire() dereferences freed memory and calls igmpv3_send_report(), enabling disclosure of reallocated slab contents and arbitrary kernel memory read primitives via heap grooming.
I:H - The UAF arms mr_gq_timer on a freed in_device and the expiry handler writes through dangling pointers (mr_gq_running, igmpv3_send_report paths), providing attacker-influenced heap corruption that can be developed into arbitrary kernel write and privilege escalation.
A:H - The fix commit states the timer callback accesses freed in_device memory and causes kernel panic; UAF on a timer-armed netdev structure is a reliable oops/panic and repeatable DoS, and can be retriggered by continued IGMP query flooding during interface churn.
CVSS 3.1