---
id: CVE-2026-74268
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  tcp: clear sock_ops cb flags before force-closing a child socket

  A child socket inherits the listener's bpf_sock_ops_cb_flags via
  sk_clone_lock()
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  tcp: clear sock_ops cb flags before force-closing a child socket

  A child socket inherits the listener's bpf_sock_ops_cb_flags via
  sk_clone_lock(). If its setup fails i…
severity: critical
cvss: 9.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-414
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-08-15'
updated: '2026-10-16'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-16T19:17:35.287'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74268'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d5389b2c37ca00da61d1407618ebe15abae0c8b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71e9c53220abd7f5a45aa4d5e5b420d3479f3a4f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8874dafc9099bc49c2e5ebba030f85d276421f92'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/990348e5bb457697c2f1f7f7b65154a3334d9d2b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f30ba9aa0270a18fdd1e6cd426c480c35f7de9d'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fffa6465851a1910a6e9cb7272787dd615b26b1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce311bd2e36596f0aa2c92ca86fb3e019ac57eae'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe23d56e9266d58ba5c380f1970118eedeee0b68'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-74268.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-74268'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2516842'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74268'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74268'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-74268.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00714
epssPercentile: 0.53477
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'yes'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-10-16T18:51:48.226503Z'
scores:
  nvd: 9.8
  vendor: 5.5
  cna: 9.8
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.456Z'
---

## Overview

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

tcp: clear sock_ops cb flags before force-closing a child socket

A child socket inherits the listener's bpf_sock_ops_cb_flags via
sk_clone_lock(). If its setup fails in tcp_v4_syn_recv_sock() /
tcp_v6_syn_recv_sock(), the child is freed through put_and_exit, where
inet_csk_prepare_forced_close() drops the socket lock and tcp_done() runs
without it.

If BPF_SOCK_OPS_STATE_CB_FLAG was inherited, tcp_done() -> tcp_set_state()
calls tcp_call_bpf(), which expects the lock and trips sock_owned_by_me():

  WARNING: include/net/sock.h:1799 at tcp_set_state+0x433/0x550
  RIP: 0010:tcp_set_state+0x433/0x550 include/net/sock.h:1799
  Call Trace:
   <IRQ>
   tcp_done+0xba/0x250 net/ipv4/tcp.c:5095
   tcp_v4_syn_recv_sock+0x850/0xa50 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1787
   tcp_check_req+0xf30/0x1360 net/ipv4/tcp_minisocks.c:926
   tcp_v4_rcv+0x1047/0x1b50 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:2164
   </IRQ>

The child is freed before it is ever established, so it should run no
sock_ops callback. Clear its cb flags in inet_csk_prepare_for_destroy_sock(),
the common point for the IPv4, IPv6 and chtls forced-close paths and for the
MPTCP ->syn_recv_sock() failure path (dispose_child), which reaches tcp_done()
on a child that was never established too.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, … · updated 2026-10-16 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-74268.json)