CVE-2026-68122 (GCVE-0-2026-68122)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-08-10 11:58
Modified
2026-08-17 04:59
Severity ?
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: fix peer refcount leak in TCP error paths When either the TCP RX or TX error path calls ovpn_peer_hold() followed by schedule_work(&peer->tcp.defer_del_work), and the work item is already pending from the other path, schedule_work() returns false and the work runs only once. Since ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work() calls ovpn_peer_put() exactly once, the extra reference taken by the losing path is never dropped, leaking the peer object. The race window: CPU0 (strparser/RX error): CPU1 (tcp_tx_work/TX error): ovpn_peer_hold() <- refcnt+1 ovpn_peer_hold() <- refcnt+2 schedule_work() <- queued schedule_work() <- NO-OP (work already pending) ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work runs: ovpn_peer_del() ovpn_peer_put() <- refcnt+1 <- peer never freed Fix by checking the return value of schedule_work() in both paths and calling ovpn_peer_put() to drop the extra reference if the work was already pending. ovpn_peer_hold() is kept unconditional in the TX path as it cannot fail at that point.
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
Linux Linux Version: a6a5e87b3ee4cbf9c69a776565378c9b6a91dbfb
Version: a6a5e87b3ee4cbf9c69a776565378c9b6a91dbfb
Version: a6a5e87b3ee4cbf9c69a776565378c9b6a91dbfb
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "b08526bf0bbf84ceebd29033783e8e0c9f451286",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "a6a5e87b3ee4cbf9c69a776565378c9b6a91dbfb",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "f08f39c1f43f3980d46b06af8ed99ffe84ac294a",
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              "versionType": "git"
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        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/ovpn/tcp.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "6.16"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "6.16",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.42",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1.6",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
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                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.42",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "6.16",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
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                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.1.6",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "6.16",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.2",
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                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\novpn: fix peer refcount leak in TCP error paths\n\nWhen either the TCP RX or TX error path calls ovpn_peer_hold() followed\nby schedule_work(\u0026peer-\u003etcp.defer_del_work), and the work item is already\npending from the other path, schedule_work() returns false and the work\nruns only once. Since ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work() calls ovpn_peer_put()\nexactly once, the extra reference taken by the losing path is never\ndropped, leaking the peer object.\n\nThe race window:\n\n  CPU0 (strparser/RX error):       CPU1 (tcp_tx_work/TX error):\n  ovpn_peer_hold()   \u003c- refcnt+1   ovpn_peer_hold()   \u003c- refcnt+2\n  schedule_work()    \u003c- queued      schedule_work()    \u003c- NO-OP\n                                    (work already pending)\n  ovpn_tcp_peer_del_work runs:\n    ovpn_peer_del()\n    ovpn_peer_put()  \u003c- refcnt+1\n                                   \u003c- peer never freed\n\nFix by checking the return value of schedule_work() in both paths and\ncalling ovpn_peer_put() to drop the extra reference if the work was\nalready pending. ovpn_peer_hold() is kept unconditional in the TX path\nas it cannot fail at that point."
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T04:59:13.088Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b08526bf0bbf84ceebd29033783e8e0c9f451286"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f08f39c1f43f3980d46b06af8ed99ffe84ac294a"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63bbe18fc03062f483c627838a566a707b62da79"
        }
      ],
      "title": "ovpn: fix peer refcount leak in TCP error paths",
      "x_generator": {
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      }
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  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-68122",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-10T11:58:42.477Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-30T09:28:09.369Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T04:59:13.088Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}


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