CVE-2026-74678 (CVSS 7.5)

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup() When the interface has NETIF_F_SG enabled and skb_linearize() fails in ax88179_tx_fixup(), the function returns NULL without freeing the skb. usbnet_start_xmit() treats a NULL return from tx_fixup() as a drop (info->flags does not set FLAG_MULTI_PACKET for this driver), jumping to the "drop" label where it does `if (skb) dev_kfree_skb_any(skb)`. Because tx_fixup() returned NULL, the local skb variable in usbnet_start_xmit() is NULL, so the original skb is never freed — a memory leak on every TX frame whose linearization fails (i.e. under memory pressure). Free the skb before returning, matching the error handling already used for the pskb_expand_head() failure path in the same function.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0048

Probability of exploitation

0.40%

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/1c63303659a2264bd55d9813df74cb4caeed5922 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f428e30947395d9b9aacee03e25a4e6cfcad7a4 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2be5091fa693b9119ad25a8bb8c149d236a23ade https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4039cd807a5a46dc5f7618fffae926b8ad8455eb https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58733b1dd46bb231d9d279c132a20ee46da1b664 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83a765cbd7b4d11b0b9fa1bb9d941ae911a2159b

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-74678? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup() When the interface has NETIF_F_SG enabled and skb_linearize() fails in ax88179_tx_fixup(), the function returns NULL without freeing the skb. usbnet_start_xmit() treats a NULL return from tx_fixup() as a drop (info->flags does not set FLAG_MULTI_PACKET for this driver), jumping to the "drop" label where it does `if (skb) dev_kfree_skb_any(skb)`. Because tx_fixup() returned NULL, the local skb variable in usbnet_start_xmit() is NULL, so the original skb is never freed — a memory leak on every TX frame whose linearization fails (i.e. under memory pressure). Free the skb before returning, matching the error handling already used for the pskb_expand_head() failure path in the same function. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-74678? +

CVE-2026-74678 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0048, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-74678? +

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.

CVE-2026-74678