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

sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling

sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into
COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the
outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be
clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the
state machine has already partially progressed.

However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a
Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from
COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already
have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk.

During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table
and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr.
As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out
entry from the previous stream state.

Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on
stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old
stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free().

This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi):

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140
Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312
CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted
7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full)
sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140
sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0
sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30
sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0
sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270
sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10

Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the
Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit
state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated,
making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart.

Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued
and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and
trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.
Published: 2026-06-24
Score: n/a
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Impact

The vulnerability arises when the SCTP association rolls back from a stale cookie state; the stream scheduler’s cached pointer may reference freed memory, leading to a use‑after‑free during packet dequeue operations. This can force the kernel to crash, rendering the affected host unavailable and, if an attacker can manipulate the kernel with elevated privileges, potentially allow arbitrary code execution.

Affected Systems

The flaw exists in the Linux kernel SCTP implementation on all distributions that ship the unpatched kernel. No version list is supplied, but the issue may be present in any kernel that lacks the patch introduced in the provided Git commit references.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score is not published and the EPSS score is unavailable; it is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. The likely attack vector is over the network by an attacker sending crafted SCTP packets that trigger the stale cookie error. Because the bug results in a kernel crash, the impact is high, but the exploitability remains uncertain without a publicly available exploit.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on June 24, 2026 at 13:00 UTC.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade the Linux kernel to a release that includes the SCTP use‑after‑free fix (the patch is in the commits referenced in the CVE description).
  • If the kernel cannot be updated immediately, disable SCTP networking (e.g., by running `sysctl -w net.sctp.enable=0` or rebuilding the kernel with `CONFIG_SCTP=n`).
  • Monitor kernel logs for KASAN or Oops messages related to SCTP and apply any vendor security advisories once they become available.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on June 24, 2026 at 13:00 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 07:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the state machine has already partially progressed. However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk. During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr. As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out entry from the previous stream state. Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free(). This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312 CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full) sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0 sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0 sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270 sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10 Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated, making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart. Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.
Title sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling
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: 2026-06-24T07:14:18.646Z

Reserved: 2026-06-09T07:44:35.368Z

Link: CVE-2026-52924

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

No data.

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-06-24T13:00:06Z

Weaknesses