CVE-2026-74727: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: skip rehash for peers already removed from by_id ovpn_nl_peer_set

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: skip rehash for peers already removed from by_id ovpn_nl_peer_set_doit() resolves th

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: skip rehash for peers already removed from by_id ovpn_nl_peer_set_doit() resolves the target peer via ovpn_peer_get_by_id() before taking ovpn->lock. In the window between the lookup (which only takes a refcount) and the subsequent spin_lock_bh(&ovpn->lock), a concurrent OVPN_CMD_PEER_DEL, keepalive expiry, or socket teardown can take ovpn->lock first, run ovpn_peer_remove() to unhash the peer from all four tables (by_id, by_vpn_addr4/6, by_transp_addr) and release the lock. set_doit then acquires ovpn->lock and calls ovpn_peer_hash_vpn_ip(), which re-inserts the now-removed peer back into the rehashing tables. The same race affects the float path: ovpn_peer_endpoints_update() holds only a refcount and acquires ovpn->lock very late (after async AEAD decrypt and a netlink notification), then rehashes the peer in the by_transp_addr table. The resurrected peer becomes reachable again from the RX lookup (ovpn_peer_get_by_transp_addr) and the TX VPN-IP lookup, even though userspace believes it is gone. Once the data-path refcount drops the peer is freed via call_rcu while the hash entries embedded in it remain

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.65%, higher than 51% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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