In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: avoid skb access on nf_stolen When verdict is NF_STOLEN, the skb might have been freed. When tracing is enabled, this can result in a use-after-free: 1. access to skb->nf_trace 2. access to skb->mark 3. computation of trace id 4. dump of packet payload To avoid 1, keep a cached copy of skb->nf_trace in the trace state struct. Refresh this copy whenever verdict is != STOLEN. Avoid 2 by skipping skb->mark access if verdict is STOLEN. 3 is avoided by precomputing the trace id. Only dump the packet when verdict is not "STOLEN".
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.