Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/sched: account classifier filter allocations to memcg
Allocations in the tc classifier *_change() paths (filter objects,
per-CPU counters, and per-filter aux data) use plain GFP_KERNEL without
__GFP_ACCOUNT, allowing unprivileged users to pin kernel memory outside
memcg charging. The shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array allocation in
cls_api.c was also uncharged; this patch closes it along with the
per-classifier filter-object/percpu/aux allocations that remain
unaccounted.
Add GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT to:
- the shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array (cls_api.c), common to every
filter of every classifier (32 pointers, 256 bytes);
- the filter-object, per-CPU-counter, and per-filter aux allocations in
cls_basic, cls_bpf, cls_cgroup, cls_flow, cls_flower, cls_fw,
cls_matchall, cls_route and cls_u32;
- the u32_init_knode() replace-path knode allocation (cls_u32.c), which
allocates the same struct tc_u_knode + sel.keys on every replace of an
existing knode and was missed by the create-path-only conversion.
Also fix the cls_basic error path: basic_change() inserts fnew into the
IDR before allocating the per-CPU counter. If alloc_percpu() fails the
errout path kfree'd fnew without idr_remove, leaving a dangling pointer
in the IDR. With GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT the percpu alloc becomes failable
on demand (memcg at memory.max), making the dead path attacker-reachable
and burning the handle permanently. Add the idr_remove on the percpu
failure path, matching the basic_set_parms failure-path pattern.
Note: vega@nebusec.ai provided a poc for basic_cls, but it was easy to
extend to the other classifiers.
Conditions to recreate the bug:
- CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_CLS_* (the classifier being used),
CONFIG_NET_CLS_ACT, CONFIG_MEMCG, CONFIG_USER_NS, CONFIG_NET_NS.
- Unprivileged user in a fresh user+network namespace (unshare -Urn),
or root with CAP_NET_ADMIN.
- Create a large number of tc filters (e.g. tc filter add dev lo
ingress ... <classifier> ...) while watching a memcg-limited cgroup:
system slab grows far faster than memory.current, pinning kernel
memory outside memcg charging.
net/sched: account classifier filter allocations to memcg
Allocations in the tc classifier *_change() paths (filter objects,
per-CPU counters, and per-filter aux data) use plain GFP_KERNEL without
__GFP_ACCOUNT, allowing unprivileged users to pin kernel memory outside
memcg charging. The shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array allocation in
cls_api.c was also uncharged; this patch closes it along with the
per-classifier filter-object/percpu/aux allocations that remain
unaccounted.
Add GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT to:
- the shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array (cls_api.c), common to every
filter of every classifier (32 pointers, 256 bytes);
- the filter-object, per-CPU-counter, and per-filter aux allocations in
cls_basic, cls_bpf, cls_cgroup, cls_flow, cls_flower, cls_fw,
cls_matchall, cls_route and cls_u32;
- the u32_init_knode() replace-path knode allocation (cls_u32.c), which
allocates the same struct tc_u_knode + sel.keys on every replace of an
existing knode and was missed by the create-path-only conversion.
Also fix the cls_basic error path: basic_change() inserts fnew into the
IDR before allocating the per-CPU counter. If alloc_percpu() fails the
errout path kfree'd fnew without idr_remove, leaving a dangling pointer
in the IDR. With GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT the percpu alloc becomes failable
on demand (memcg at memory.max), making the dead path attacker-reachable
and burning the handle permanently. Add the idr_remove on the percpu
failure path, matching the basic_set_parms failure-path pattern.
Note: vega@nebusec.ai provided a poc for basic_cls, but it was easy to
extend to the other classifiers.
Conditions to recreate the bug:
- CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_CLS_* (the classifier being used),
CONFIG_NET_CLS_ACT, CONFIG_MEMCG, CONFIG_USER_NS, CONFIG_NET_NS.
- Unprivileged user in a fresh user+network namespace (unshare -Urn),
or root with CAP_NET_ADMIN.
- Create a large number of tc filters (e.g. tc filter add dev lo
ingress ... <classifier> ...) while watching a memcg-limited cgroup:
system slab grows far faster than memory.current, pinning kernel
memory outside memcg charging.
Published:
2026-09-17
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis
No analysis available yet.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
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Remediation
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Advisories
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References
History
Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: account classifier filter allocations to memcg Allocations in the tc classifier *_change() paths (filter objects, per-CPU counters, and per-filter aux data) use plain GFP_KERNEL without __GFP_ACCOUNT, allowing unprivileged users to pin kernel memory outside memcg charging. The shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array allocation in cls_api.c was also uncharged; this patch closes it along with the per-classifier filter-object/percpu/aux allocations that remain unaccounted. Add GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT to: - the shared tcf_exts_init_ex() action array (cls_api.c), common to every filter of every classifier (32 pointers, 256 bytes); - the filter-object, per-CPU-counter, and per-filter aux allocations in cls_basic, cls_bpf, cls_cgroup, cls_flow, cls_flower, cls_fw, cls_matchall, cls_route and cls_u32; - the u32_init_knode() replace-path knode allocation (cls_u32.c), which allocates the same struct tc_u_knode + sel.keys on every replace of an existing knode and was missed by the create-path-only conversion. Also fix the cls_basic error path: basic_change() inserts fnew into the IDR before allocating the per-CPU counter. If alloc_percpu() fails the errout path kfree'd fnew without idr_remove, leaving a dangling pointer in the IDR. With GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT the percpu alloc becomes failable on demand (memcg at memory.max), making the dead path attacker-reachable and burning the handle permanently. Add the idr_remove on the percpu failure path, matching the basic_set_parms failure-path pattern. Note: vega@nebusec.ai provided a poc for basic_cls, but it was easy to extend to the other classifiers. Conditions to recreate the bug: - CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_CLS_* (the classifier being used), CONFIG_NET_CLS_ACT, CONFIG_MEMCG, CONFIG_USER_NS, CONFIG_NET_NS. - Unprivileged user in a fresh user+network namespace (unshare -Urn), or root with CAP_NET_ADMIN. - Create a large number of tc filters (e.g. tc filter add dev lo ingress ... <classifier> ...) while watching a memcg-limited cgroup: system slab grows far faster than memory.current, pinning kernel memory outside memcg charging. | |
| Title | net/sched: account classifier filter allocations to memcg | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-17T16:06:10.858Z
Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.786Z
Link: CVE-2026-90099
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-17T17:17:01.567
Modified: 2026-09-17T17:17:01.567
Link: CVE-2026-90099
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.