CVE-2026-31579

wireguard: device: use exit_rtnl callback instead of manual rtnl_lock in pre_exit

Published Apr 24, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wireguard: device: use exit_rtnl callback instead of manual rtnl_lock in pre_exit

wg_netns_pre_exit() manually acquires rtnl_lock() inside the
pernet .pre_exit callback. This causes a hung task when another
thread holds rtnl_mutex - the cleanup_net workqueue (or the
setup_net failure rollback path) blocks indefinitely in
wg_netns_pre_exit() waiting to acquire the lock.

Convert to .exit_rtnl, introduced in commit 7a60d91c690b ("net:
Add ->exit_rtnl() hook to struct pernet_operations."), where the
framework already holds RTNL and batches all callbacks under a
single rtnl_lock()/rtnl_unlock() pair, eliminating the contention
window.

The rcu_assign_pointer(wg->creating_net, NULL) is safe to move
from .pre_exit to .exit_rtnl (which runs after synchronize_rcu())
because all RCU readers of creating_net either use maybe_get_net()
- which returns NULL for a dying namespace with zero refcount - or
access net->user_ns which remains valid throughout the entire
ops_undo_list sequence.

[ Jason: added __net_exit and __read_mostly annotations that were missing. ]

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4904-1 linux-6.12 security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8488-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8488-2 Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8507-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8569-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8603-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-476
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-833
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wireguard: device: use exit_rtnl callback instead of manual rtnl_lock in pre_exit wg_netns_pre_exit() manually acquires rtnl_lock() inside the pernet .pre_exit callback. This causes a hung task when another thread holds rtnl_mutex - the cleanup_net workqueue (or the setup_net failure rollback path) blocks indefinitely in wg_netns_pre_exit() waiting to acquire the lock. Convert to .exit_rtnl, introduced in commit 7a60d91c690b ("net: Add ->exit_rtnl() hook to struct pernet_operations."), where the framework already holds RTNL and batches all callbacks under a single rtnl_lock()/rtnl_unlock() pair, eliminating the contention window. The rcu_assign_pointer(wg->creating_net, NULL) is safe to move from .pre_exit to .exit_rtnl (which runs after synchronize_rcu()) because all RCU readers of creating_net either use maybe_get_net() - which returns NULL for a dying namespace with zero refcount - or access net->user_ns which remains valid throughout the entire ops_undo_list sequence. [ Jason: added __net_exit and __read_mostly annotations that were missing. ]
Title wireguard: device: use exit_rtnl callback instead of manual rtnl_lock in pre_exit
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Nov 5, 2026, 9:45 PM
Reserved
Mar 9, 2026, 3:48 PM
Status
Modified
Published
Apr 24, 2026, 3:16 PM
Modified
Nov 11, 2026, 11:10 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Apr 24, 2026, 12:00 AM