CVE-2026-80753
HIGHCVE-2026-80753 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.4) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-80753 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
ovpn: run deferred work on a module-owned workqueue
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:
ovpn: run deferred work on a module-owned workqueue
ovpn queues several work items whose callbacks execute module text. These works currently run on the global system workqueues, so module exit has no driver-owned drain point that guarantees the callbacks have fully returned before the module text can be freed.
Object references protect the objects used by the callbacks, but they do not prove that a workqueue function has returned. In particular, a worker can drop the final reference that unblocks device teardown while it is still executing ovpn code.
Add a module-owned workqueue and queue all ovpn work items on it. During module exit, unregister rtnl and netlink first, flush the workqueue so ordinary ovpn workers finish, run the final RCU barrier, and destroy the workqueue last. This keeps the workqueue available for cleanup work queued from RCU callbacks, while ensuring no ovpn work item can outlive the module text.
The per-device delayed keepalive work remains explicitly disabled during netdev teardown (disable_delayed_work_sync in ndo_uninit), since flush_workqueue does not flush delayed work that is still only pending on its timer.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 6.16.0&&< 7.1.10 | 7.1.10 |
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 7.1.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-80753 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-2026-80753 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-2026-80753. 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-2026-80753 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-80753 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.