* [CVE-2026-97536][MODERATE REGULAR] scsi: qla2xxx: Fix use-after-free of qpair work on queue teardown [ Upstream
@ 2026-09-25 16:51 21% AL-KERNEL
0 siblings, 0 replies; 1+ results
From: AL-KERNEL @ 2026-09-25 16:51 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: kernel-cve
CVE: CVE-2026-97536
Priority: MODERATE REGULAR
AL-KERNEL base severity: MODERATE
KPANIC flag: NO
Patch: scsi: qla2xxx: Fix use-after-free of qpair work on queue teardown [ Upstream
Commit: 1710a69fd74d0b4bdfcc57c3309b1c4057f70d85
Upstream patch: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=1710a69fd74d0b4bdfcc57c3309b1c4057f70d85
Original CVE announcement: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97536
Analysis date: Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:51:54 -0400
ActionableScore: 3
ActionableScore lower bound: unknown
Actionable bucket: Borderline / manual review recommended
Manual review required: YES
Summary:
No one-sentence report phrase was found.
======================================================================
ABOUT THIS REPORT
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-97536 is available here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97536
The original announcement does not normally provide a security severity
estimate, CVSS assessment, or enough information to determine whether the
reported kernel bug represents a practically relevant security issue.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin. It combines
an autonomous classifier with LLM-assisted technical analysis and a
separate ActionableScore mechanism.
The purpose of this report is to prioritize Linux kernel CVEs before
manual review, identify cases that require prompt investigation, and
support automatic closure of issues that are unlikely to have meaningful
security impact.
Published priority for this report: MODERATE REGULAR
Manual review required: YES
A detailed explanation of the methodology and priority rules is included
at the end of this message.
======================================================================
AL-KERNEL CLASSIFICATION RESULT
======================================================================
CVE-2026-97536 MODERATE https://www.kernelcve.org/list/?q=CVE-2026-97536 CHECK WITH IMPACT FROM ORIG NN MODERATE Maybe valid. Check manually. Hints by AL-KERNEL: The best (paranoid) CVSS is 'AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H';*CWE-416;CWE-362;CWE-667;Other CVSS 'AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H';BEST CVSS score: '6.4';DESCR 'A use after free in the qla2xxx driver can occur when the response queue MSI X handler queues qpair work and the queue pair is then destroyed before the queued work executes. free_irq waits for active interrupt handlers but does not cancel already queued qpair work, so qla_do_work can later dereference freed qpair and response queue memory and cause a kernel crash. For the CVSS the PR:H is used because reliable triggering requires administrative control of adapter teardown, reset, driver unload, or device removal. The issue is not directly network reachable. A peer on an attached Fibre Channel fabric may affect I O timing, but the patch does not demonstrate a reliable remote standalone trigger. Impact is at least local denial of service via kernel crash and in the worst case may allow confidentiality or integrity impact due to the confirmed use after free condition. YES REQUIRES MANUAL CHECK.';YES REQUIRES MANUAL CHECK; ,and ActionableScore result is Borderline / manual review recommended (with actual score 3) YES INIT UAF HARDWARE LINUS MEMORY DECREASED_TO_MODERATEREG_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCORELESSTHAN4 NO NO checked
======================================================================
ACTIONABLESCORE ANALYSIS
======================================================================
ActionableScore=3
PrimitiveClass=CLASS_B
RealUAF=YES
HostAdminRequired=UNKNOWN
NamespaceScopedPrivilege=UNKNOWN
ImportantCandidate=NO
ManualReview=RECOMMENDED
AutoDowngradeAllowed=YES
1. ActionableScore
* Raw conservative score: 3
* Conservative score: 3
* Raw paranoid score: 3
* Paranoid score: 3
* Final recommended bucket: **Borderline / manual review recommended**::
2. Signal breakdown
* +2 Real UAF / active lifetime violation. A qpair work item can remain queued after the response queue and qpair are freed. qla_do_work subsequently dereferences the freed qpair, including vha, rsp, and qp_lock.
* +1 Reliable kernel crash / strong DoS. Dereferencing freed queue-pair state or locking a freed qp_lock can cause an Oops, memory corruption symptoms, or a kernel crash.
* +0 Structured stale-object exploitation leverage. The qpair is an active structured object, but supplied evidence does not show attacker-controlled replacement, controlled reclaim, post-free contents, callback dispatch, directed read/write, or meaningful field consumption after reallocation.
* +0 Strong or weak LPE leverage. A UAF alone does not establish privilege escalation, arbitrary write, controlled type confusion, or credential manipulation.
* +0 Remote reachability. A Fibre Channel peer may influence I O completion timing, but the supplied evidence does not establish that a remote peer can independently trigger qpair teardown and the later stale work execution.
* +0 Local unprivileged trigger. The complete trigger sequence and required privileges for queue-pair teardown are not visible. The input suggests administrative operations may be required, but this is not established sufficiently to apply a host-admin penalty.
* +0 Hard race penalty. The issue is asynchronous, but full adapter teardown can force pending work execution through destroy_workqueue after queue pairs were freed. The supplied mechanics do not establish a narrowly timed or externally uncontrollable one-shot race.
* +0 Hardware rarity penalty. qla2xxx requires compatible Fibre Channel hardware, but the input does not establish physical-only attacker access or a sufficiently rare hardware condition for a penalty.
* +0 Confidentiality and integrity impact. C and I are not awarded because no disclosure, arbitrary write, controlled reclaim, or protected-object corruption primitive is demonstrated.
* +0 Extra Availability impact. The kernel-crash consequence is counted once and is not double-counted as another availability signal.
* No concrete repeated release/refcount mutation is established. The stale operation is qla_do_work dereferencing freed state, not a second put, release, free, or refcount update through the same dangling reference.
* FLOOR 5 was not applied. This is not a demonstrated repeated-release/refcount UAF, and no attacker-controlled reuse or active post-free structured processing beyond the stale worker dereference is established.
3. Reachability analysis
The directly established condition is a qla2xxx adapter teardown occurring while response work for the relevant qpair is already pending on ha->wq. The pending work may originate from the response queue MSI X handler before free_irq prevents new interrupt handling.
The complete attacker model is unresolved. Host-level driver unload, PCI device removal, adapter reset, or similar administrative teardown operations may be relevant, but the supplied patch does not show all qla2xxx_delete_qpair call sites or prove that host-admin-equivalent privilege is always required. Therefore HostAdminRequired is UNKNOWN rather than YES.
There is no evidence that the complete sequence can be performed through an attacker-created user namespace, network namespace, or delegated namespace capability. The affected objects belong to a host Fibre Channel adapter driver, and NamespaceScopedPrivilege is UNKNOWN.
A remote Fibre Channel participant may potentially influence I O timing and response interrupts, but remote reachability is not established because the patch does not show that such a participant can independently force queue teardown or adapter destruction. No ordinary local-user trigger is established either.
4. Primitive and severity interpretation
The exact primitive is a real asynchronous use-after-free. The MSI X response handler queues qpair->q_work, then teardown frees rsp and qpair without cancelling queued work. Later qla_do_work accesses the stale qpair and associated response queue.
This is an active structured-object UAF rather than fixed stale DMA storage. However, the demonstrated stale use occurs in a teardown-related asynchronous work path and currently supports a kernel crash or DoS consequence. The patch does not establish controlled heap reclaim, attacker-shaped replacement objects, function-pointer or ops dispatch from reclaimed storage, arbitrary read/write, disclosure, or an authorization-boundary bypass.
There is no concrete second release, put, free, or refcount mutation through the same dangling qpair reference. This is therefore not the stronger repeated-lifetime-mutation category.
PrimitiveClass is CLASS_B because a genuine kernel lifetime violation and post-free dereference are directly established. ImportantCandidate is NO because the available evidence supports a constrained stale-worker UAF with crash/DoS consequences, while meaningful exploitation leverage beyond the crash remains unproven. AutoDowngradeAllowed is YES because no controlled reclaim, repeated lifetime mutation, active replacement, security-boundary bypass, or other unresolved strong exploitation primitive is shown.
Operationally, this should receive manual review where qla2xxx adapters are deployed, especially on systems where queue teardown, adapter reset, hot removal, or driver lifecycle operations may occur under load. It is not supported by the supplied evidence as a strong Important-class vulnerability.
5. One-sentence report phrase
A queued qla2xxx response work item can execute after its qpair and response queue are freed during teardown, causing a kernel use-after-free and potential denial of service through a kernel crash.
6. Manual review recommendation
MANUAL CHECK RECOMMENDED
The patch establishes a real kernel UAF in an asynchronous workqueue path, but the complete privilege boundary, practical trigger path, and post-free exploitation leverage are not visible from the supplied call-site context.
7. Call-site confidence
Call-site confidence: medium
======================================================================
UPSTREAM PATCH SUMMARY
======================================================================
Patch: scsi: qla2xxx: Fix use-after-free of qpair work on queue teardown [ Upstream
Commit: 1710a69fd74d0b4bdfcc57c3309b1c4057f70d85
Upstream URL: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=1710a69fd74d0b4bdfcc57c3309b1c4057f70d85
Changed files:
drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/qla_mid.c
Diff excerpt:
Not included in this email. See the upstream URL for the full patch.
Full patch:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=1710a69fd74d0b4bdfcc57c3309b1c4057f70d85
======================================================================
DETAILED REPORT METHODOLOGY
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-97536 can be found here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97536
The original CVE announcement normally does not include a security-level
estimate. In particular, it may not contain a CVSS assessment, an impact
level, or enough information to determine whether the reported bug is a
practically relevant security issue. One purpose of this parallel CVE list
is to provide that missing technical and prioritization information.
The original goal of the AL-KERNEL project was to prioritize Linux kernel
CVE analysis automatically before manual review. The system can also help
identify non-security issues that may be suitable for automatic closure.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin.
The first analysis stage combines an autonomous classifier with additional
LLM-based analysis. The autonomous classifier runs locally on a CPU and is
based on a backpropagation neural network. Together, these mechanisms
produce a technical vulnerability description, identify likely weakness
types, estimate CVSS severity, and provide input for ActionableScore.
Two CVSS estimates are retained because incomplete kernel vulnerability
information often permits more than one defensible interpretation:
Conservative CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS score: 6.4
The conservative vector represents a lower-impact interpretation.
The Best/paranoid vector intentionally represents a plausible upper-bound
interpretation and should not automatically be treated as demonstrated
real-world impact.
CVSS may also need to be adjusted for a particular Linux deployment,
because actual reachability, privileges, enabled kernel configuration,
hardware, namespaces, exposed device nodes, and other environmental
conditions can differ significantly between systems.
A separate ActionableScore mechanism evaluates practical remediation
urgency. Its analysis may include reachability, attack prerequisites,
subsystem exposure, memory-corruption characteristics, denial-of-service
reliability, and possible confidentiality, integrity, or
privilege-escalation impact.
Conservative ActionableScore: unknown
Paranoid ActionableScore: 3
The final base severity is taken directly from the second tab-separated
field of the AL-KERNEL classification result. ActionableScore does not
replace or independently override that final AL-KERNEL decision, and
if ActionableScore adjusted impact level of ALKERNEL, then you would see
self-readable flags above like INCREASED_TO_HIGH_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCOREHIGHEREQTHAN7.
For an AL-KERNEL result of MODERATE, this report uses the following
additional presentation split:
ActionableScore below 5 -> MODERATE REGULAR
ActionableScore 5 or more -> MODERATE 7.0
The distinction between MODERATE REGULAR and MODERATE 7.0 makes it
possible to identify Moderate issues that should receive manual analysis
and fixes before lower-priority MODERATE REGULAR issues. In many cases,
MODERATE REGULAR fixes may wait for a later rebase or routine update.
There is one override in which MODERATE REGULAR becomes MODERATE 7.0
even when the ActionableScore is below 5. When the AL-KERNEL result
contains the KPANIC flag, a MODERATE result is always presented as
MODERATE 7.0. The KPANIC flag selected with few regexps without
usage of AI at all, so it helps to detect cases when Kernel Crash happens
and similar (to filter False-Negative results from the LLM usage).
KPANIC indicates that a reliable kernel crash, kernel panic, or similarly
serious kernel availability impact was identified by the classification
workflow.
AL-KERNEL base severity for this report: MODERATE
KPANIC detected for this report: NO
Published priority for this report (same as in Subject): MODERATE REGULAR
These results are intended to support engineering triage. They are
machine-generated estimates, and cases marked for manual review should
be validated by a human security engineer before final disposition.
For more info read docs linked from here: https://kernelcve.org/
(and you can submit you own patch there to generate such a report
for non-existant CVE-id yet).
Note that in many cases this AI tool selects higher severity, than
real is (means you can expect Importants instead of Moderate 7.0 or
Moderates 7.0 instead of regular Moderates). If you see such cases,
please use reply email interface to add additional manual analyses
info to this particular CVE.
And please, please, let me know when you see Lows instead of Importants
or Important instead of Low (because particular for such cases I
need to tune this AI tool to make it better for this one and next similar).
My contact email for such notifications is [email protected] (and both
send reply to CVE record itself too and see "reply" button below for howto reply).
^ permalink raw reply [relevance 21%]
Results 1-1 of 1 | reverse | sort options + mbox downloads above
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2026-09-25 16:51 21% [CVE-2026-97536][MODERATE REGULAR] scsi: qla2xxx: Fix use-after-free of qpair work on queue teardown [ Upstream AL-KERNEL
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox