CVE-2026-74623

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: atlantic: free stranded TX buffers on ring deinit aq_vec_deinit() drains the TX rings with a single aq_ring_tx_clean() call, which frees at most AQ_CFG_TX_CLEAN_BUDGET (256) descriptors and stops at hw_head, which no longer moves once aq_vec_stop() has stopped the hardware and NAPI. Completed descriptors beyond the budget and everything still posted in [hw_head, sw_tail) keep their skb or xdp_frame when the interface goes down: aq_vec_ring_free() then frees the buffer ring and the references are lost for good. Today this is a silent memory leak on every interface down under TX/XDP_TX load. With the conversion of the RX path to page_pool posted for net-next it becomes much more visible: XDP_TX frames carry fragment references on the RX ring's page_pool, so a single stranded frame keeps the pool's inflight count above zero forever. page_pool_destroy() then never completes, the pool is leaked together with its pages, and "page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown" is warned every 60 seconds from that point on, on every ifdown, XDP detach or ring resize under XDP_TX load. Bring back aq_ring_tx_deinit() as it was before the removal and use it for teardown again, with one extension: TX rings can hold xdp_frames nowadays, so release those too. They are returned with xdp_return_frame() since this runs in process context.

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EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0018

Probability of exploitation

0.07%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/307d80193b4a4a75b8dc4e0d3162be3755abbed7 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3447641d361dcc5511841d986ad4d849b2900d9b https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/452636ea5410a96e02ebaaf80b21e3620b98e0dd https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4f1c20873f70b4b22ef86dc38dad1fda8e169bcd https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a3e1481f4ee6c581bccc6bfc6c970aac5be7b0c https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a14ceebd13bf857bfca052bc5a6bd49e737912be https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b13202d401e1a20fec89b0cda733dcbaf279f79d https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd633280de7fdfd60dc4fcf63d04e2ad95b43269

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-74623? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: atlantic: free stranded TX buffers on ring deinit aq_vec_deinit() drains the TX rings with a single aq_ring_tx_clean() call, which frees at most AQ_CFG_TX_CLEAN_BUDGET (256) descriptors and stops at hw_head, which no longer moves once aq_vec_stop() has stopped the hardware and NAPI. Completed descriptors beyond the budget and everything still posted in [hw_head, sw_tail) keep their skb or xdp_frame when the interface goes down: aq_vec_ring_free() then frees the buffer ring and the references are lost for good. Today this is a silent memory leak on every interface down under TX/XDP_TX load. With the conversion of the RX path to page_pool posted for net-next it becomes much more visible: XDP_TX frames carry fragment references on the RX ring's page_pool, so a single stranded frame keeps the pool's inflight count above zero forever. page_pool_destroy() then never completes, the pool is leaked together with its pages, and "page_pool_release_retry() stalled pool shutdown" is warned every 60 seconds from that point on, on every ifdown, XDP detach or ring resize under XDP_TX load. Bring back aq_ring_tx_deinit() as it was before the removal and use it for teardown again, with one extension: TX rings can hold xdp_frames nowadays, so release those too. They are returned with xdp_return_frame() since this runs in process context.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-74623? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.