CyberRota Analysis
AI-GeneratedA vulnerability in the Linux kernel's IPv6 handling allows an unprivileged user to trigger a NULL pointer dereference in the `accept_untracked_na()` function, which can lead to a system crash. This issue arises from improper handling of device references during concurrent operations, specifically when the MTU is lowered, potentially affecting network stability. System administrators and developers managing Linux environments, particularly those utilizing IPv6, should prioritize addressing this vulnerability to prevent potential denial-of-service scenarios.
Original NVD Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: ndisc: fix NULL deref in accept_untracked_na() accept_untracked_na() re-fetches the inet6_dev with __in6_dev_get(dev) and dereferences idev->cnf.accept_untracked_na without a NULL check, even though its only caller ndisc_recv_na() already fetched and NULL-checked idev for the same device. Both reads of dev->ip6_ptr run in the same RCU read-side critical section, but a concurrent addrconf_ifdown() can clear dev->ip6_ptr between them: lowering the MTU below IPV6_MIN_MTU calls addrconf_ifdown() without the synchronize_net() that orders the unregister path, so the re-fetch returns NULL and oopses: BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in ndisc_recv_na (net/ipv6/ndisc.c:974) Read of size 4 at addr 0000000000000364 Call Trace: <IRQ> ndisc_recv_na (net/ipv6/ndisc.c:974) icmpv6_rcv (net/ipv6/icmp.c:1193) ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:479) ip6_input_finish (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:534) ip6_input (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:545) ip6_mc_input (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:635) ipv6_rcv (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:351) </IRQ> It is reachable by an unprivileged user via a network namespace. Pass the caller's already validated idev instead of re-fetching it; the idev stays alive for the whole RCU critical section, so it is safe even after dev->ip6_ptr has been cleared.