CVE-2026-53175
CRITICALCVE-2026-53175 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Use After Free vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-53175 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
inet: frags: fix use-after-free caused by the fqdir_pre_exit() flush
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
inet: frags: fix use-after-free caused by the fqdir_pre_exit() flush
On netns teardown, fqdir_pre_exit() walks the fqdir rhashtable and flushes every fragment queue that is not yet complete using inet_frag_queue_flush(). That helper frees all the skbs queued on the fragment queue but does not set INET_FRAG_COMPLETE, and leaves q->fragments_tail and q->last_run_head pointing at the freed skbs. The queue itself stays in the rhashtable.
fqdir_pre_exit() first lowers high_thresh to 0 to stop new queue lookups, but it cannot stop a fragment that already obtained the queue through inet_frag_find() earlier and stalled just before taking the queue lock. Once that fragment resumes after the flush and takes the queue lock, it passes the INET_FRAG_COMPLETE check and then dereferences the freed fragments_tail. inet_frag_queue_insert() reads FRAG_CB() and ->len of that pointer and, on the append path, writes ->next_frag, causing a slab use-after-free. IPv6, nf_conntrack_reasm6 and 6lowpan reassembly share the same flush path and are affected as well.
Reset rb_fragments, fragments_tail and last_run_head in inet_frag_queue_flush() so a flushed queue no longer points at the freed skbs. A fragment that resumes after the flush and takes the queue lock then finds an empty queue and starts a new run instead of dereferencing the freed fragments_tail. ip_frag_reinit() already performed this reset after its own flush, so drop the now duplicate code there.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 6.13.0&&< 6.12.94 | 6.12.94 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 6.12.94 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-53175 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-53175 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-53175. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-53175 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-53175 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.