CVE-2026-97995: Linux kernel · virtio_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 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 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A fix is available that properly drains the control-out virtqueue without freeing buffers prematurely, preventing out-of-bounds memory access. Users should update to patched versions of the Linux kernel that include this fix. Since this is a kernel-level issue, applying the official kernel updates from the vendor or distribution is the recommended remediation.
Description
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's virtio_console driver was resolved. The issue involved improper freeing of control-out buffers during device removal, leading to out-of-bounds memory reads. Specifically, the remove_vqs() function passed leftover cookies to free_buf(), which incorrectly treated them as port_buffer structures and read beyond the ports_device object. This was detected by KASAN as a slab-out-of-bounds error. The fix ensures that control-out queues are drained without freeing buffers prematurely, preventing invalid memory access.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-97995 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97995 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a80c33488e0bbe642ed803b13a4ac8078a70b507 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/894f98e73983f37354214a89a3a7fd35bf9e3072 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/177ee901aa2bab02e7f1f8edbb814fd5e386ed62 (opens in a new tab)
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97995 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e40c69b9c3448b9c6609cd02013da593b2e123b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f6cfc3eca79b8e108d0823756101e2f4f9d811f (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1f39c2a676698cc64c8e105e08b25111a112ec6 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e03522a990cd2e0f1a736eaa349a9df9ab8541c3 (opens in a new tab)