VulnerabilityPublished 26 Oct 2026Updated 27 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98947: Linux kernel · vsock: Fix memory leak in vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb()

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98947· Medium

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 02:14 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 Oct 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.10linux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-14.14 – 7.3.0-9.9 6 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.10linux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1004.4 – 7.3.0-1003.3 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.10linux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1004.4 – 7.3.0-1003.3 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.10linux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected =7.0.0-1004.4 =7.3.0-1002.3 =7.3.0-1003.4	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.10linux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.3.0-1003.3 5 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.10linux-oracle`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle?arch=source&distro=stonking`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.3.0-1003.3 5 affected builds	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 has been implemented that adds receive queue cleanup in the socket destructor to prevent the memory leak. Users should update to the patched Linux kernel versions that include this fix. Since the vulnerability is resolved by this patch, applying the official kernel updates is the recommended mitigation.

Description

A memory leak vulnerability was identified and fixed in the Linux kernel's vsock component, specifically in the vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() function. The issue occurs during the closure of a datagram socket, where packets are improperly managed between the socket's backlog and receive queue, leading to unreleased memory. This flaw was detected by syzkaller and reported by InfoTeCS on behalf of the Linux Verification Center. The fix involves adding receive queue cleanup in the socket destructor to prevent the leak.

Impact

This vulnerability causes a memory leak in the Linux kernel's vsock datagram socket handling, which could lead to increased memory consumption and potential resource exhaustion on affected systems. There is no indication of direct code execution or privilege escalation from this flaw. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

Summary

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel vsock implementation involves a memory leak triggered when the vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() function is called during datagram socket closure. Packets are added to the socket's backlog and then moved back to the receive queue after the receive queue is cleared, causing memory not to be freed properly. The issue was identified through kernel fuzzing (syzkaller) and traced through kernel functions such as __release_sock() and sk_add_backlog(). The patch adds cleanup of the receive queue in the socket destructor to resolve the leak.

GCVE source: db.gcve.eu
OSV ID: UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98947
Osv Schema Version: 1.7.0
Ecosystems: Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:16.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:18.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS:20.04:LTS, Ubuntu:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-preview:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:22.04:LTS, Ubuntu:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Nvidia-BlueField:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:Realtime:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:Pro:FIPS-updates:24.04:LTS, Ubuntu:26.10, Ubuntu:26.04:LTS

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Oct 2026, 02:14 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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