Skip to main content
VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-23414: Linux kernel · tls: Purge async_hold in tls_decrypt_async_wait()

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-23414· High 7.5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · patch available : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.5High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 29% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 2 Apr 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 25.10linuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux@6.17.0-40.40?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-15.15 – 6.17.0-40.40
20 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws@6.17.0-1019.19?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-1005.5 – 6.17.0-1019.19
17 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure@6.17.0-1020.20?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-1004.4 – 6.17.0-1020.20
16 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde@6.17.0-1017.17?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1003.3 – 6.17.0-1017.17
10 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp@6.17.0-1020.22?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-1006.6 – 6.17.0-1020.22
17 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oraclepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle@6.17.0-1018.18?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-1005.5 – 6.17.0-1018.18
16 affected builds
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

An official patch is available and should be applied promptly via standard Linux kernel updates provided by the vendor. For Ubuntu users, update to the fixed kernel versions as per Ubuntu Security Notices USN-8567-1 and USN-8574-1. After updating, a system reboot is required to activate the patched kernel. Due to ABI changes, third-party kernel modules must be recompiled and reinstalled. No additional mitigations are required beyond applying the official fix.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tls: Purge async_hold in tls_decrypt_async_wait() The async_hold queue pins encrypted input skbs while the AEAD engine references their scatterlist data. Once tls_decrypt_async_wait() returns, every AEAD operation has completed and the engine no longer references those skbs, so they can be freed unconditionally. A subsequent patch adds batch async decryption to tls_sw_read_sock(), introducing a new call site that must drain pending AEAD operations and release held skbs. Move __skb_queue_purge(&ctx->async_hold) into tls_decrypt_async_wait() so the purge is centralized and every caller -- recvmsg's drain path, the -EBUSY fallback in tls_do_decryption(), and the new read_sock batch path -- releases held skbs on synchronization without each site managing the purge independently. This fixes a leak when tls_strp_msg_hold() fails part-way through, after having added some cloned skbs to the async_hold queue. tls_decrypt_sg() will then call tls_decrypt_async_wait() to process all pending decrypts, and drop back to synchronous mode, but tls_sw_recvmsg() only flushes the async_hold queue when one record has been processed in "fully-async" mode, which may not be the case here. [pabeni@redhat.com: added leak comment]

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…