How severe is CVE-2026-74609?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-74609 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-74609?

CVE-2026-74609 affects the following packages: Kernel (Linux). Ecosystems affected: Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2026-74609?

Update Kernel to 5.10.265 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-74609 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-74609 in my Linux dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-74609 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-74609?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-74609 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2026-74609 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-74609 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was CVE-2026-74609 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-74609 was published on August 22, 2026 and was last updated on August 24, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐧 Linux

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-74609

CVE-2026-74609 is a security vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-74609 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down()

Published

Aug 22, 2026

Updated

Aug 24, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Aug 24, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐧Kernel

Real-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:

tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down()

tipc_node_link_down() caches the link pointer before taking n->lock:

struct tipc_link *l = le->link;		/* unlocked */

if (!l)
	return;
tipc_node_write_lock(n);
if (!tipc_link_is_establishing(l)) {	/* deref l */
...
	tipc_link_reset(l);		/* write into l */
if (delete) {
	kfree(l);
	le->link = NULL;

The delete=true caller frees that very object under n->lock, so the lock does not protect the cached pointer against it:

CPU A, delete=false: tipc_rcv() on TIPC_LINK_DOWN_EVT, or the link supervision timer via tipc_node_timeout(), reads l unlocked and then dereferences it under n->lock;
CPU B, delete=true: netlink TIPC_NL_BEARER_DISABLE -> bearer_disable() -> tipc_node_delete_links() -> tipc_node_link_down(n, bearer_id, true) -> kfree(l).

The link is freed with plain kfree(), not kfree_rcu(), and for UDP bearers disable_media() only schedules the asynchronous cleanup_bearer() work, so its synchronize_net() runs after the links are already gone. An in-flight CPU A that has read l therefore dereferences freed memory once B frees it: a use-after-free read in tipc_link_is_establishing(), and a use-after-free write via tipc_link_reset() on the establishing branch.

The following trace was captured on 7.2.0-rc5-00284-gaf39eb111ce6:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) Read of size 4 at addr ffff88802e2aa068 by task swapper/2/0 tipc_link_is_establishing (net/tipc/link.c:285) tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1076) tipc_node_timeout (net/tipc/node.c:843) Allocated by task 9549: tipc_link_create (net/tipc/link.c:490) tipc_node_check_dest (net/tipc/node.c:1279) tipc_disc_rcv (net/tipc/discover.c:252) tipc_udp_recv (net/tipc/udp_media.c:389) Freed by task 9549: tipc_node_link_down (net/tipc/node.c:1084) tipc_node_delete_links (net/tipc/node.c:1320) bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:414) __tipc_nl_bearer_disable (net/tipc/bearer.c:992)

Move the le->link read inside tipc_node_write_lock(), so it is serialised against the kfree() in the delete path. A racing teardown now either has not run yet, and we see a valid link, or has already run, and we see NULL.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐧Linux	`Kernel`	≥ 4.4.0&&< 5.10.265	5.10.265

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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 5.10.265 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-74609 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-2026-74609 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-2026-74609. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: read le->link under the node lock in tipc_node_link_down() tipc_node_link_down() caches the link pointer before taking n->lock: struct tipc_link *l = le->link; /* unlocked */ if (!l) return; tipc_node_write_lock(n); if (!tipc_link_is_establishing(l)) { /* deref l */ ... tipc_link_reset(l); /* write into l */ if (delete) { kfree(l); le->link = NULL; The delete=true caller frees that very object under n->lock, so the lock does not protect the cached pointer against it: - CPU A, delete=false: tipc_rcv

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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