CVE-2026-23316: net: ipv4: fix ARM64 alignment fault in multipath hash seed

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-23316 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 2.3% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 25-03-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 11-05-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ipv4: fix ARM64 alignment fault in multipath hash seed `struct sysctl_fib_multipath_hash_seed` contains two u32 fields (user_seed and mp_seed), making it an 8-byte structure with a 4-byte alignment requirement. In `fib_multipath_hash_from_keys()`, the code evaluates the entire struct atomically via `READ_ONCE()`: mp_seed = READ_ONCE(net->ipv4.sysctl_fib_multipath_hash_seed).mp_seed; While this silently works on GCC by falling back to unaligned regular loads which the ARM64 kernel tolerates, it causes a fatal kernel panic when compiled with Clang and LTO enabled. Commit e35123d83ee3 ("arm64: lto: Strengthen READ_ONCE() to acquire when CONFIG_LTO=y") strengthens `READ_ONCE()` to use Load-Acquire instructions (`ldar` / `ldapr`) to prevent compiler reordering bugs under Clang LTO. Since the macro evaluates the full 8-byte struct, Clang emits a 64-bit `ldar` instruction. ARM64 architecture strictly requires `ldar` to be naturally aligned, thus executing it on a 4-byte aligned address triggers a strict Alignment Fault (FSC = 0x21). Fix the read side by moving the `READ_ONCE()` directly to the `u32` member, which emits a safe 32-bit `ldar Wn`. Furthermore, Eric Dumazet pointed out that `WRITE_ONCE()` on the entire struct in `proc_fib_multipath_hash_set_seed()` is also flawed. Analysis shows that Clang splits this 8-byte write into two separate 32-bit `str` instructions. While this avoids an alignment fault, it destroys atomicity and exposes a tear-write vulnerability. Fix this by explicitly splitting the write into two 32-bit `WRITE_ONCE()` operations. Finally, add the missing `READ_ONCE()` when reading `user_seed` in `proc_fib_multipath_hash_seed()` to ensure proper pairing and concurrency safety.

No weakness data has been published for this record.