VulnerabilityPublished 25 Sep 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-97995: Linux kernel · virtio_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · 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.
Patch: Available – fixed in f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830, e03522a990cd2e0f1a736eaa349a9df9ab8541c3, b1f39c2a676698cc64c8e105e08b25111a112ec6 +12

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Sep 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.

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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, 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.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=3.16.60 <3.17 >=3.18.108 <3.19 >=4.1.52 <4.2 >=4.4.131 <4.5 >=4.9.98 <4.10 >=4.14.39 <4.15 >=4.16.7 <4.17	Fixed in f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830 e03522a990cd2e0f1a736eaa349a9df9ab8541c3 b1f39c2a676698cc64c8e105e08b25111a112ec6 a80c33488e0bbe642ed803b13a4ac8078a70b507 894f98e73983f37354214a89a3a7fd35bf9e3072 177ee901aa2bab02e7f1f8edbb814fd5e386ed62 8f6cfc3eca79b8e108d0823756101e2f4f9d811f 4.17 4.15 4.10 4.5 4.2 3.19 3.17 2e40c69b9c3448b9c6609cd02013da593b2e123b
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.17	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

The vulnerability is fixed in Linux kernel versions 4.17, 4.15, 4.10, and other specified versions. Users and administrators should upgrade to these fixed versions or later to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official kernel updates.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's virtio_console driver causes improper freeing of control-out buffers during device removal. Specifically, leftover control messages on the control-out virtqueue are incorrectly freed, leading to out-of-bounds memory reads. This flaw was detected by KASAN as a slab-out-of-bounds error and affects multiple Linux kernel versions prior to the fix. The issue is resolved by draining the control-out queue without freeing the buffers prematurely.

Impact

This vulnerability causes out-of-bounds memory reads in kernel space during device removal, which can lead to kernel memory corruption or crashes. While no public exploits or in-the-wild exploitation are reported, the flaw poses a risk of system instability or potential escalation if exploited.

Summary

The Linux kernel's virtio_console driver improperly frees control-out buffers when the device is removed. The function __send_control_msg() sets &portdev->cpkt as the control-out virtqueue cookie. During device unbinding, remove_vqs() iterates over virtqueues and calls free_buf() on leftover cookies, which treats them as struct port_buffer and reads scatter-gather pages. If a control message remains on the control-out virtqueue (c_ovq) at unbind time, free_buf() reads beyond the ports_device object, causing slab-out-of-bounds memory access as reported by KASAN. The fix involves draining the c_ovq without freeing the buffers, allowing the packet to be released safely with the portdev object.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 13:08 UTC

Technical details

References

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