CVE-2026-23216

A use-after-free flaw was found in the Linux kernel's iSCSI target subsystem. In the iscsit_dec_conn_usage_count() function, complete() is called while still holding the conn->conn_usage_lock spinlock. The waiting thread (such as iscsit_close_connection()) may wake up immediately and free the iscsit_conn structure before the current thread executes spin_unlock_bh(), resulting in a use-after-free when attempting to release the lock on already-freed memory.

This vulnerability requires the iSCSI target subsystem to be configured and in use, which limits the attack surface to systems actively serving as iSCSI targets. The race condition is timing-dependent and requires specific connection teardown sequences to trigger. Successful exploitation could lead to kernel crash or potentially memory corruption.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, prevent the iscsi_target_mod module from being loaded. See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for instructions on how to blacklist kernel modules.