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CVE-2026-74493

9.8 · CRITICAL

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix socket use-after-free during link group termination __smc_lgr_terminate() drops conns_lock after finding a connect…

Published Aug 15, 2026EPSS 0.50%

Overview

CVE-2026-74493 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 15, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

net/smc: fix socket use-after-free during link group termination

__smc_lgr_terminate() drops conns_lock after finding a connection in

lgr->conns_all, but before taking a reference on its socket. The connection

is embedded in the socket, and its registration reference protects it only

while the connection remains in the tree.

A concurrent close can unregister the connection and drop that reference,

freeing the socket before the termination worker reaches sock_hold().

The race is reachable when close overlaps link group termination.

Local stress testing reproduced the use-after-free and KASAN reported:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __smc_lgr_terminate.part.0 [smc]

Write of size 4 by task kworker/3:3

Workqueue: events smc_lgr_terminate_work [smc]

__smc_lgr_terminate.part.0 [smc]

The socket was allocated by smc_create(), freed through

slab_free_after_rcu_debug(), and was followed by:

refcount_t: addit

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-74493?

CVE-2026-74493 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 15, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-74493?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-74493?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-74493?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-74493 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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