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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-53009: Linux kernel · ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in eb6cf492ae991e40e1e5b2d3f32ec06e9cc678db : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CISA SSVC
Exploitation
No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable
Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact
Total control over the software or total information disclosure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch
Available – fixed in eb6cf492ae991e40e1e5b2d3f32ec06e9cc678db, 359906450690a1d70545220bde82ba74f3fd80f8, 910e498613d5bf4cbe5f298c2613666c38679fab +2
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 24 Jun 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

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e, < eb6cf492ae991e40e1e5b2d3f32ec06e9cc678db
Fixed in
  • eb6cf492ae991e40e1e5b2d3f32ec06e9cc678db
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e, < 359906450690a1d70545220bde82ba74f3fd80f8
Fixed in
  • 359906450690a1d70545220bde82ba74f3fd80f8
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e, < 910e498613d5bf4cbe5f298c2613666c38679fab
Fixed in
  • 910e498613d5bf4cbe5f298c2613666c38679fab
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e, < 4c08fc2119ef0281cfa2cee007acf0a251be55f2
Fixed in
  • 4c08fc2119ef0281cfa2cee007acf0a251be55f2
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e, < 1a303baa715e6b78d6a406aaf335f87ff35acfcd
Fixed in
  • 1a303baa715e6b78d6a406aaf335f87ff35acfcd
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • =4.17
Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb If ice_tso() or ice_tx_csum() fail, the error path in ice_xmit_frame_ring() frees the skb, but the 'first' tx_buf still points to it and is marked as valid (ICE_TX_BUF_SKB). 'next_to_use' remains unchanged, so the potential problem will likely fix itself when the next packet is transmitted and the tx_buf gets overwritten. But if there is no next packet and the interface is brought down instead, ice_clean_tx_ring() -> ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf() will find the tx_buf and free the skb for the second time. The fix is to reset the tx_buf type to ICE_TX_BUF_EMPTY in the error path, so that ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf(). Move the initialization of 'first' up, to ensure it's already valid in case we hit the linearization error path. The bug was spotted by AI while I had it looking for something else. It also proposed an initial version of the patch. I reproduced the bug and tested the fix by adding code to inject failures, on a build with KASAN. I looked for similar bugs in related Intel drivers and did not find any.

References

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