CVE-2026-63989

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bridge: Fix sleep in atomic context in netlink path Since the introduction of the netlink configuration path for bridge ports in commit 25c71c75ac87 ("bridge: bridge port parameters over netlink"), br_setport() was always called with the bridge lock held around it. Back then this decision made sense: The bridge lock protects the STP state of the bridge and its ports and at that time the function only processed three STP related netlink attributes (cost, priority and state). Nowadays, br_setport() processes a lot more attributes and most of them do not need the bridge lock: * Bridge flags: Only require RTNL. Read locklessly by the data path. Annotations can be added in net-next. * FDB port flushing: Only requires the FDB lock. * Multicast attributes: Only require the multicast lock. * Group forward mask: Only requires RTNL. Read locklessly by the data path. Annotations can be added in net-next. * Backup port and NHID: Only require RTNL. Read locklessly by the data path. This is a problem as the bridge calls dev_set_promiscuity() when certain bridge port flags change and this function can sleep since the commit cited below, resulting in a splat such as [1]. Fix this by reducing the scope of the bridge lock and only take it when processing the three STP related attributes that require it. This is consistent with the multicast attributes where each attribute acquires the multicast lock instead of having one critical section for all relevant attributes. [1] BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:1262 in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 356, name: bridge preempt_count: 201, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 0, expected: 0 2 locks held by bridge/356: #0: ffffffff919473a0 (rtnl_mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:80 net/core/rtnetlink.c:7002) #1: ffff888115072d58 (&br->lock){+...}-{3:3}, at: br_setlink (./include/linux/spinlock.h:348 net/bridge/br_netlink.c:1117) Preemption disabled at: 0x0 Hardware name: Bochs Bochs, BIOS Bochs 01/01/2011 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:94 lib/dump_stack.c:120) __might_resched.cold (kernel/sched/core.c:9163) netif_rx_mode_run (net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:1262) netif_rx_mode_sync (net/core/dev_addr_lists.c:1428) dev_set_promiscuity (net/core/dev_api.c:289) br_manage_promisc (net/bridge/br_if.c:135 net/bridge/br_if.c:172) br_port_flags_change (net/bridge/br_if.c:242 net/bridge/br_if.c:747) br_setport (net/bridge/br_netlink.c:1000) br_setlink (net/bridge/br_netlink.c:1118) rtnl_bridge_setlink (net/core/rtnetlink.c:5572) rtnetlink_rcv_msg (net/core/rtnetlink.c:7005) netlink_rcv_skb (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2550) netlink_unicast (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1318 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1344) netlink_sendmsg (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1894) __sock_sendmsg (net/socket.c:787 (discriminator 4) net/socket.c:802 (discriminator 4)) ____sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2698) ___sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2752) __sys_sendmsg (net/socket.c:2784) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:121)

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2026-07-19 16:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-08 14:45 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.1% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2026-07-19 16:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-08 14:45 UTC

Exploit probability

0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-667

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 6.18.35
• Linux Kernel < 7.0.12
• Linux Kernel 6.15
• Linux Kernel 7.1

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

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