CVE Watchtower

← Back to CVE List

CVE-2026-80841NVD

Vulnerability Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish

AF_PACKET TX_RING skbs keep a raw pointer to their ring frame. The skb
page references preserve page-backed ring blocks after pg_vec is freed,
but they do not preserve a vmalloc mapping.

tpacket_destruct_skb() currently drops the pending reference before
writing the timestamp and TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE to the frame. Move the
decrement after those stores. The smp_wmb() in __packet_set_status()
orders the frame stores before the decrement.

Also recheck pending TX frames under pg_vec_lock before non-closing
ring replacement, so a racing send cannot add a pending skb between
the initial check and the ring swap.

Ring allocation can produce a mixture of page-backed and vmalloc-backed
blocks. Allocate deferred-work storage during TX ring setup when the
first vmalloc-backed block is encountered, and keep its pointer in the
pg_vec allocation header. If allocation fails, return -ENOMEM from ring
setup. On socket close, a non-NULL pointer identifies a vmalloc-backed
vector without a scan. If TX skbs remain, defer the whole vector to
system_long_wq.

After pg_vec is detached, a late destructor can skip the pending
decrement. Use socket write-memory accounting as the deferred lifetime
gate instead: an skb remains charged through its final sock_wfree(),
after all ring-frame accesses. The delayed work retains a socket
reference and reschedules itself until no TX skbs remain.

Move pending_refcnt release to packet_sock_destruct() so late skb
destructors and deferred cleanup can safely use it after
packet_release(). Page-backed teardown remains synchronous, and no lock
is added to the TX completion hot path.
Severity Level
UNKNOWN
Published Date
Sep 4, 2026
Last Modified
Oct 19, 2026
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation yet
EPSS Score (30-Day)
0.17%Probability
Root Weakness (CWE)
N/A

Affected & Patched Versions

Affected Versions
Not provided by NVD for this CVE.
Patched Versions
Not provided by NVD for this CVE.
🎁7-Day Free Trial — Try Pro or Team, no card required.
📧Email Delivery — Threat intel straight to your inbox.
♾️Unlimited Vendors — Track your entire stack.
🚨All New CVEs — Be the first to know.
📈EPSS Spike Alerts — Catch rising risk before it peaks.
🎯Custom EPSS/CVSS — Filter noise, focus on risk.
🛡️Exploit Intel — A 2nd confirmed-exploit signal beyond KEV.
🐙GitHub Issues — Auto-tracked, no duplicates.
📬Weekly Digest — One clean summary, not inbox spam.
🏷️Watchlist Groups — Tag alerts by team (Infra/AppSec/SOC).
💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
🔀Smart Routing — Critical alerts to one channel, rest to another.
🚫Ad-Free — Uninterrupted experience.
🎁7-Day Free Trial — Try Pro or Team, no card required.
📧Email Delivery — Threat intel straight to your inbox.
♾️Unlimited Vendors — Track your entire stack.
🚨All New CVEs — Be the first to know.
📈EPSS Spike Alerts — Catch rising risk before it peaks.
🎯Custom EPSS/CVSS — Filter noise, focus on risk.
🛡️Exploit Intel — A 2nd confirmed-exploit signal beyond KEV.
🐙GitHub Issues — Auto-tracked, no duplicates.
📬Weekly Digest — One clean summary, not inbox spam.
🏷️Watchlist Groups — Tag alerts by team (Infra/AppSec/SOC).
💬Webhooks — Slack & Teams integration.
🔀Smart Routing — Critical alerts to one channel, rest to another.
🚫Ad-Free — Uninterrupted experience.