In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock: Fix memory leak in vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() During the closure of a… (CVE-2026-98947)

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel affects the vsock subsystem, specifically in the vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() function. During datagram socket closure, packets are added to the socket's backlog, and then __release_sock() moves these packets back to the receive queue. This process causes a memory leak because the receive queue is not properly cleaned up before socket destruction. The issue was identified through a Syzkaller report showing unreferenced objects (memory leaks) related to this code path. The resolution adds a cleanup step in the socket destructor to free the receive queue and prevent the leak.

The impact is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's vsock datagram socket handling. This could lead to increased memory consumption and potential resource exhaustion over time on affected systems. There is no indication of code execution, privilege escalation, or direct denial of service beyond resource consumption.

A fix has been implemented that adds receive queue cleanup in the socket destructor to prevent the memory leak. Users should apply the official Linux kernel update that includes this patch. Since this is a kernel-level fix, upgrading to the patched kernel version is the recommended remediation.