VulnerabilityPublished 25 Jun 2026Updated 30 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-53229: Linux kernel · Memory Leak

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-53229· High 7.5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in bf0247d34d79d2740b3f1d6cc44dbd38ab2b169e : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 19:19 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

CVSS scores by source
CNA (Linux)	CVSS 3.1	7.5

Patch: Available – fixed in bf0247d34d79d2740b3f1d6cc44dbd38ab2b169e, b69004f5a6ad32da84d8aa5b23b9c0caafe6252e, 2789b74ae1f4b68333c9d5eec2f3354d07b16e61 +3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jun 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-gvrm-xh5g-w8v6

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < bf0247d34d79d2740b3f1d6cc44dbd38ab2b169e	Fixed in bf0247d34d79d2740b3f1d6cc44dbd38ab2b169e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < b69004f5a6ad32da84d8aa5b23b9c0caafe6252e	Fixed in b69004f5a6ad32da84d8aa5b23b9c0caafe6252e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < 2789b74ae1f4b68333c9d5eec2f3354d07b16e61	Fixed in 2789b74ae1f4b68333c9d5eec2f3354d07b16e61
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < 7b3eeba50fbc3b45f279037c29a87a90e8bac1e1	Fixed in 7b3eeba50fbc3b45f279037c29a87a90e8bac1e1
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < 3bad189a31eb78575ea69f093e8ef5b7e3e8c832	Fixed in 3bad189a31eb78575ea69f093e8ef5b7e3e8c832
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 84a0a2310d6de247335574649726cb000c7c0074, < 0aabca726b43d833721034e97d99efcc8237b22a	Fixed in 0aabca726b43d833721034e97d99efcc8237b22a

AI-suggested

A fix has been applied to the Linux kernel mlx5e driver to address this issue by adding the missing DMA unmap and xdp_frame free calls on XDP_TX transmit failure. Users should update to a kernel version that includes this patch. Since this is a Linux kernel vulnerability, applying the official kernel update or vendor-provided patches is the recommended remediation. No other mitigation or workaround is indicated.

Description

CVE-2026-53229 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mlx5e driver affecting the XSK (AF_XDP) transmit path. The flaw causes a DMA and xdp_frame memory leak when the XDP_TX transmit function fails, due to missing cleanup of DMA mappings and xdp_frame freeing. This leak can lead to resource exhaustion and potential denial of service. The issue is triggered when the transmit queue is full and the function returns early without unmapping or freeing resources. A patch has been applied to add the missing unmap and frame return calls, preventing the leak.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause a memory leak of DMA mappings and xdp_frames in the mlx5e driver, leading to resource exhaustion and potential denial of service conditions on affected systems. There is no indication of confidentiality or integrity impact. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5 (high) with an impact vector indicating no confidentiality or integrity loss but high availability impact.

Summary

The vulnerability exists in the mlx5e_xmit_xdp_buff() function within the mlx5e driver of the Linux kernel. When the sq->xmit_xdp_frame() call returns false (e.g., due to a full XDPSQ), the function returns without unmapping the DMA address or freeing the xdp_frame allocated by xdp_convert_zc_to_xdp_frame(). Because the xdpi_fifo push only occurs on success, the completion path cannot recover these leaked entries. This results in a DMA and xdp_frame leak, which surfaces as pending DMA allocations when the driver is unbound, especially with CONFIG_DMA_API_DEBUG enabled. The fix adds the missing unmap and xdp_return_frame calls to properly clean up resources on transmit failure.

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: Medium
The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
Implementation · Libraries or Frameworks
Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone.
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Architecture and Design · Build and Compilation
Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 30 Oct 2026, 19:19 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-401

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats