CVE-2026-74496
CVE-2026-74496 is a security vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-74496 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
fou: Fix use-after-free in fou_create()
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:
fou: Fix use-after-free in fou_create()
fou_create() publishes struct fou through sk_user_data before adding the new FOU port to the per-netns list. If fou_add_to_port_list() fails, the error path frees fou while it is still reachable through sk_user_data. A concurrent receive can then dereference the freed object in fou_from_sock().
This ordering issue was previously noted in the linked discussion.
The failure is reachable when local port 0 is requested. Each socket binds to a different ephemeral port, but fou_cfg_cmp() compares the requested port 0 and reports -EALREADY once an entry already exists.
Release the tunnel socket before freeing fou so sk_user_data is cleared first, and defer reclamation with kfree_rcu() to protect concurrent RCU readers. This matches the lifetime handling in fou_release().
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 3.18.0&&< 7.1.8 | 7.1.8 |
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 7.1.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-74496 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-2026-74496 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-2026-74496. 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-2026-74496 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-74496 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.