---
id: CVE-2026-74264
title: 'kernel: net: watchdog: fix refcount tracking races (CVE-2026-74264)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's network watchdog component. A race
  condition in the reference count tracking mechanism, specifically between
  netdev_watchdog_up() and dev_watchdog(), allows for concurrent overwriting or
  freeing of re…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-825
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
  - enterprise_linux 9
published: '2026-08-15'
updated: '2026-10-26'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-26T07:47:42+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-74264.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-74264.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-74264'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2516832'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74264'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74264'
  - url: 'https://kernelcve.org/list/?q=CVE-2026-74264'
  - url: >-
      https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081543-CVE-2026-74264-e6bb@gregkh/T
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fc2c92320272a99e18bbb102252859b6ee50881'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b2330facc90e43b6d7171a0ac12c23dfcbdc30d'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/446fe8ce699ce0a4d702f7b0fcdb50de340b9260'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ce2b00ff058ec4cafc9b447e1f0a6d6f49275d9'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8eed5519e496b7a07f441a0f579cb228a33189f7'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00175
epssPercentile: 0.06973
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-10-16T18:51:40.430593Z'
scores:
  vendor: 4.7
  cna: 7.8
ingestedAt: '2026-10-16T19:46:24.387Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's network watchdog component. A race condition in the reference count tracking mechanism, specifically between netdev_watchdog_up() and dev_watchdog(), allows for concurrent overwriting or freeing of reference tracking information. This can lead to list corruption and a kernel crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the affected system.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 · updated 2026-10-26 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-74264.json)

**kernel: net: watchdog: fix refcount tracking races** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-08-15, updated 2026-10-26.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8

## Remediation

Out of support scope