Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfc: nci: Fix race between rfkill and nci_unregister_device().

syzbot reported the splat below [0] without a repro.

It indicates that struct nci_dev.cmd_wq had been destroyed before
nci_close_device() was called via rfkill.

nci_dev.cmd_wq is only destroyed in nci_unregister_device(), which
(I think) was called from virtual_ncidev_close() when syzbot close()d
an fd of virtual_ncidev.

The problem is that nci_unregister_device() destroys nci_dev.cmd_wq
first and then calls nfc_unregister_device(), which removes the
device from rfkill by rfkill_unregister().

So, the device is still visible via rfkill even after nci_dev.cmd_wq
is destroyed.

Let's unregister the device from rfkill first in nci_unregister_device().

Note that we cannot call nfc_unregister_device() before
nci_close_device() because

1) nfc_unregister_device() calls device_del() which frees
all memory allocated by devm_kzalloc() and linked to
ndev->conn_info_list

2) nci_rx_work() could try to queue nci_conn_info to
ndev->conn_info_list which could be leaked

Thus, nfc_unregister_device() is split into two functions so we
can remove rfkill interfaces only before nci_close_device().

[0]:
DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(1)
WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at hlock_class kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 [inline], CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349
WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at check_wait_context kernel/locking/lockdep.c:4854 [inline], CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349
WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at __lock_acquire+0x39d/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5187, CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6349 Comm: syz.0.8675 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full)
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/13/2026
RIP: 0010:hlock_class kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 [inline]
RIP: 0010:check_wait_context kernel/locking/lockdep.c:4854 [inline]
RIP: 0010:__lock_acquire+0x3a4/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5187
Code: 18 00 4c 8b 74 24 08 75 27 90 e8 17 f2 fc 02 85 c0 74 1c 83 3d 50 e0 4e 0e 00 75 13 48 8d 3d 43 f7 51 0e 48 c7 c6 8b 3a de 8d <67> 48 0f b9 3a 90 31 c0 0f b6 98 c4 00 00 00 41 8b 45 20 25 ff 1f
RSP: 0018:ffffc9000c767680 EFLAGS: 00010046
RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 0000000000040000 RCX: 0000000000080000
RDX: ffffc90013080000 RSI: ffffffff8dde3a8b RDI: ffffffff8ff24ca0
RBP: 0000000000000003 R08: ffffffff8fef35a3 R09: 1ffffffff1fde6b4
R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: fffffbfff1fde6b5 R12: 00000000000012a2
R13: ffff888030338ba8 R14: ffff888030338000 R15: ffff888030338b30
FS: 00007fa5995f66c0(0000) GS:ffff8881256f8000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 00007f7e72f842d0 CR3: 00000000485a0000 CR4: 00000000003526f0
Call Trace:
<TASK>
lock_acquire+0x106/0x330 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5868
touch_wq_lockdep_map+0xcb/0x180 kernel/workqueue.c:3940
__flush_workqueue+0x14b/0x14f0 kernel/workqueue.c:3982
nci_close_device+0x302/0x630 net/nfc/nci/core.c:567
nci_dev_down+0x3b/0x50 net/nfc/nci/core.c:639
nfc_dev_down+0x152/0x290 net/nfc/core.c:161
nfc_rfkill_set_block+0x2d/0x100 net/nfc/core.c:179
rfkill_set_block+0x1d2/0x440 net/rfkill/core.c:346
rfkill_fop_write+0x461/0x5a0 net/rfkill/core.c:1301
vfs_write+0x29a/0xb90 fs/read_write.c:684
ksys_write+0x150/0x270 fs/read_write.c:738
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0xe2/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7fa59b39acb9
Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 e8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007fa5995f6028 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000001
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007fa59b615fa0 RCX: 00007fa59b39acb9
RDX: 0000000000000008 RSI: 0000200000000080 RDI: 0000000000000007
RBP: 00007fa59b408bf7 R08:
---truncated---
Published: 2026-02-14
Score: 4.7 Medium
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Denial of Service via race condition in NFC device handling
Action: Apply patch
AI Analysis

Impact

A race exists between the NFC controller interface and the rfkill subsystem that can allow a user to close an NFC device file while its workqueue is still being destroyed. If the workqueue is freed before the device is unregistered from rfkill, the system may retain a dangling reference to freed memory, potentially leading to a kernel crash. The main consequence is a local denial of service that could reboot the system or corrupt kernel state. The vulnerability is not known to have a remote exploitation pathway.

Affected Systems

Linux kernel builds that have not yet integrated the 2026-23167 fix, including all release candidates of kernel 6.19 and earlier stable releases that predate the patch. The affected components are the NFC device core, the nci driver, and the rfkill subsystem.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 4.7 indicates moderate severity, while the EPSS score of less than 1% reflects a low probability of current exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, and it appears to require local privilege to trigger. Attackers would need to open and close an NFC device—for example, by naming a tty on a device that remains after rfkill unregistering—as a precondition for the race. If successful, the system may panic or crash, causing denial of service, but no known exploit chain leads to arbitrary code execution.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 17, 2026 at 19:30 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the kernel patch that un-registers the device from rfkill before destroying the workqueue, which is included in kernel revisions newer than the offending release.
  • Alternatively, upgrade the system to a kernel version that incorporates the fix (e.g., the next major release after the patch is released).
  • If an immediate upgrade is not possible, temporarily disable the NFC subsystem by blacklisting the nci module or removing the rfkill entry for NFC devices, reducing the attack surface until the patch can be applied.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on April 17, 2026 at 19:30 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8162-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8180-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8180-2 Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8186-1 Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8187-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8188-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
History

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 16:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfc: nci: Fix race between rfkill and nci_unregister_device(). syzbot reported the splat below [0] without a repro. It indicates that struct nci_dev.cmd_wq had been destroyed before nci_close_device() was called via rfkill. nci_dev.cmd_wq is only destroyed in nci_unregister_device(), which (I think) was called from virtual_ncidev_close() when syzbot close()d an fd of virtual_ncidev. The problem is that nci_unregister_device() destroys nci_dev.cmd_wq first and then calls nfc_unregister_device(), which removes the device from rfkill by rfkill_unregister(). So, the device is still visible via rfkill even after nci_dev.cmd_wq is destroyed. Let's unregister the device from rfkill first in nci_unregister_device(). Note that we cannot call nfc_unregister_device() before nci_close_device() because 1) nfc_unregister_device() calls device_del() which frees all memory allocated by devm_kzalloc() and linked to ndev->conn_info_list 2) nci_rx_work() could try to queue nci_conn_info to ndev->conn_info_list which could be leaked Thus, nfc_unregister_device() is split into two functions so we can remove rfkill interfaces only before nci_close_device(). [0]: DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(1) WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at hlock_class kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 [inline], CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349 WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at check_wait_context kernel/locking/lockdep.c:4854 [inline], CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349 WARNING: kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 at __lock_acquire+0x39d/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5187, CPU#0: syz.0.8675/6349 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6349 Comm: syz.0.8675 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/13/2026 RIP: 0010:hlock_class kernel/locking/lockdep.c:238 [inline] RIP: 0010:check_wait_context kernel/locking/lockdep.c:4854 [inline] RIP: 0010:__lock_acquire+0x3a4/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5187 Code: 18 00 4c 8b 74 24 08 75 27 90 e8 17 f2 fc 02 85 c0 74 1c 83 3d 50 e0 4e 0e 00 75 13 48 8d 3d 43 f7 51 0e 48 c7 c6 8b 3a de 8d <67> 48 0f b9 3a 90 31 c0 0f b6 98 c4 00 00 00 41 8b 45 20 25 ff 1f RSP: 0018:ffffc9000c767680 EFLAGS: 00010046 RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 0000000000040000 RCX: 0000000000080000 RDX: ffffc90013080000 RSI: ffffffff8dde3a8b RDI: ffffffff8ff24ca0 RBP: 0000000000000003 R08: ffffffff8fef35a3 R09: 1ffffffff1fde6b4 R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: fffffbfff1fde6b5 R12: 00000000000012a2 R13: ffff888030338ba8 R14: ffff888030338000 R15: ffff888030338b30 FS: 00007fa5995f66c0(0000) GS:ffff8881256f8000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f7e72f842d0 CR3: 00000000485a0000 CR4: 00000000003526f0 Call Trace: <TASK> lock_acquire+0x106/0x330 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5868 touch_wq_lockdep_map+0xcb/0x180 kernel/workqueue.c:3940 __flush_workqueue+0x14b/0x14f0 kernel/workqueue.c:3982 nci_close_device+0x302/0x630 net/nfc/nci/core.c:567 nci_dev_down+0x3b/0x50 net/nfc/nci/core.c:639 nfc_dev_down+0x152/0x290 net/nfc/core.c:161 nfc_rfkill_set_block+0x2d/0x100 net/nfc/core.c:179 rfkill_set_block+0x1d2/0x440 net/rfkill/core.c:346 rfkill_fop_write+0x461/0x5a0 net/rfkill/core.c:1301 vfs_write+0x29a/0xb90 fs/read_write.c:684 ksys_write+0x150/0x270 fs/read_write.c:738 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xe2/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7fa59b39acb9 Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 e8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007fa5995f6028 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000001 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007fa59b615fa0 RCX: 00007fa59b39acb9 RDX: 0000000000000008 RSI: 0000200000000080 RDI: 0000000000000007 RBP: 00007fa59b408bf7 R08: ---truncated---
Title nfc: nci: Fix race between rfkill and nci_unregister_device().
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-02-14T16:01:30.755Z

Reserved: 2026-01-13T15:37:45.981Z

Link: CVE-2026-23167

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-02-14T16:15:56.910

Modified: 2026-03-18T15:01:30.570

Link: CVE-2026-23167

cve-icon Redhat

Severity :

Publid Date: 2026-02-14T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-23167 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-17T19:45:25Z

Weaknesses