CVE-2026-74623: Linux kernel · net: atlantic: free stranded TX buffers on ring deinit
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- 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.
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: atlantic: free stranded TX buffers on ring deinit aq_vec_deinit() drains the TX rings with a single aq_ring_tx_clean() call, which frees at most AQ_CFG_TX_CLEAN_BUDGET (256) descriptors and stops at hw_head, which no longer moves once aq_vec_stop() has stopped the hardware and NAPI. Completed descriptors beyond the budget and everything still posted in [hw_head, sw_tail) keep their skb or xdp_frame when the interface goes down: aq_vec_ring_free() then frees the buffer ring and the references are lost for good. Today this is a silent memory leak on every interface down under TX/XDP_TX load. With the conversion of the RX path to page_pool posted for net-next it becomes much more visible: XDP_TX frames carry fragment references on the RX ring's page_pool, so a single stranded frame keeps the pool's inflight count above zero forever. page_pool_destroy() then never completes, the pool is leaked together with its pages, and "page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown" is warned every 60 seconds from that point on, on every ifdown, XDP detach or ring resize under XDP_TX load. Bring back aq_ring_tx_deinit() as it was before the removal and use it for teardown again, with one extension: TX rings can hold xdp_frames nowadays, so release those too. They are returned with xdp_return_frame() since this runs in process context.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74623 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/307d80193b4a4a75b8dc4e0d3162be3755abbed7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3447641d361dcc5511841d986ad4d849b2900d9b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/452636ea5410a96e02ebaaf80b21e3620b98e0dd (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4f1c20873f70b4b22ef86dc38dad1fda8e169bcd (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a3e1481f4ee6c581bccc6bfc6c970aac5be7b0c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a14ceebd13bf857bfca052bc5a6bd49e737912be (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b13202d401e1a20fec89b0cda733dcbaf279f79d (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd633280de7fdfd60dc4fcf63d04e2ad95b43269 (opens in a new tab)