HIGH Introduced in 3.16
net/sched Handle Corruption
CVE-2026-98104
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: cls_u32: fix duplicate handle when node ID pool is exhausted gen_new_kid() falls back to returning max (htid | 0xFFF) when both idr_alloc_u32() ranges are full, instead of reporting an error. u32_change() trusts that value and inserts a new knode with a handle that is already live in the hash table, breaking handle uniqueness within the table's node ID space. The handle was never reserved in ht->handle_idr, so every later error path that does idr_remove(&ht->handle_idr, handle) removes the reservation of a different, live knode, which is then reused — one failed add compounds into further duplicates. The 4095 limit is per (table, bucket) — ht->handle_idr is per hash table and the range is derived from htid (bucketid), so a table with divisor 256 can legitimately hold 256*4095 knodes. The sibling helper gen_new_htid() has the same silent in-band failure: it returns 0 when the tp_c handle pool (1..0x7FF) is full, and u32_init() publishes the root hash table with handle 0 without checking. Two root tables with handle 0 alias in u32_lookup_ht(), allowing cross-tcf_proto knode add/lookup/delete. Add the same exhaustion check that the divisor path already has. Return an error so u32_change() fails with ENOSPC/ENOMEM when the node ID space is exhausted, and so u32_init() fails with -ENOMEM when the hash table ID space is exhausted. The extack message distinguishes pool exhaustion (-ENOSPC) from a transient allocation failure (-ENOMEM). Conditions to recreate the bug: - CONFIG_NET_SCHED=y, CONFIG_CLS_U32=y (or =m with module loaded) - Create a clsact qdisc on a device, then add 4095 u32 filters with auto-generated handles to fill the node ID space for the root hash table (single bucket). The 4096th auto-handle filter add triggers the duplicate handle (fh 800::fff reused). Reachable at Level 2 (unshare -Urn, namespace-local CAP_NET_ADMIN). - For gen_new_htid: create 2047 u32 proto entries on the same block to fill the tp_c handle pool, then create one more. The root table gets handle 0 and aliases with other handle-0 root tables.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
The u32 traffic classifier in the Linux kernel produces duplicate filter handles when its node ID pool is exhausted, causing cascading data structure corruption where live filters lose their reservations and handles are reused. An unprivileged local user can trigger this through a user namespace with CAP_NET_ADMIN, potentially leading to kernel memory corruption. Container hosts and multi-tenant environments are most at risk.
Vulnerability analysis
When the u32 traffic classifier's handle allocation pool is full, the kernel silently returns an already-assigned handle instead of reporting an error. This creates duplicate filter handles within the same hash table, so subsequent error cleanup removes the ID reservation of an unrelated live filter, and that freed handle is then handed out again, cascading into further collisions. A related exhaustion path in hash-table ID generation can publish a root table with handle zero, which aliases other root tables and allows filter operations to cross between unrelated classifier instances. The fix makes both allocation helpers return a proper error when their pools are exhausted, so new filter additions fail cleanly instead of corrupting existing entries. The vulnerable code is reached through the netlink-based traffic control interface and requires CAP_NET_ADMIN, but this capability can be obtained by any unprivileged local user inside a user namespace.
Lifecycle
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Introduced | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | 3.16 | 6.1.189 | f4ee13ed7f7b |
| 6.6 | 3.16 | 6.6.158 | 84223baf21bc |
| 6.12 | 3.16 | 6.12.111 | 6890e28840ba |
| 6.18 | 3.16 | 6.18.53 | feab9261b537 |
| 7.2 | 3.16 | 7.2.7 | f594f04268d0 |
| mainline | 3.16 | 7.3-rc2 | d7e7e98d23f4 |
| cip/6.12 | 3.16 | 6.12.111-cip32 | 6890e28840ba |