CVE-2026-22979net: fix memory leak in skb_segment_list for GRO packets
- 5.5MediumCVSS base score
- 0.14%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 96% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: fix memory leak in skb_segment_list for GRO packets When skb_segment_list() is called during packet forwarding, it handles packets that were aggregated by the GRO engine. Historically, the segmentation logic in skb_segment_list assumes that individual segments are split from a parent SKB and may need to carry their own socket memory accounting. Accordingly, the code transfers truesize from the parent to the newly created segments. Prior to commit ed4cccef64c1 ("gro: fix ownership transfer"), this truesize subtraction in skb_segment_list() was valid because fragments still carry a reference to the original socket. However, commit ed4cccef64c1 ("gro: fix ownership transfer") changed this behavior by ensuring that fraglist entries are explicitly orphaned (skb->sk = NULL) to prevent illegal orphaning later in the stack. This change meant that the entire socket memory charge remained with the head SKB, but the corresponding accounting logic in skb_segment_list() was never updated. As a result, the current code unconditionally adds each fragment's truesize to delta_truesize and subtracts it from the parent SKB. Since the fragments are no longer charged to the socket, this subtraction results in an effective under-count of memory when the head is freed. This causes sk_wmem_alloc to remain non-zero, preventing socket destruction and leading to a persistent memory leak. The leak can be observed via KMEMLEAK when tearing down the networking environment: unreferenced object 0xffff8881e6eb9100 (size 2048): comm "ping", pid 6720, jiffies 4295492526 backtrace: kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x5c6/0x800 sk_prot_alloc+0x5b/0x220 sk_alloc+0x35/0xa00 inet6_create.part.0+0x303/0x10d0 __sock_create+0x248/0x640 __sys_socket+0x11b/0x1d0 Since skb_segment_list() is exclusively used for SKB_GSO_FRAGLIST packets constructed by GRO, the truesize adjustment is removed. The call to skb_release_head_state() must be preserved. As documented in commit cf673ed0e057 ("net: fix fraglist segmentation reference count leak"), it is still required to correctly drop references to SKB extensions that may be overwritten during __copy_skb_header().
Timeline
ID reserved
By Linux
- 10 days later
· 10 days later
Published
- 10 months later
· 10 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Medium5.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.14% · top 96% of all CVEs (14 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Medium 5.5.
Affected products
- affected 2eeab8c47c3c0276e0746bc382f405c9a236a5ad – < 0b27828ebd1ed3107d7929c3737adbe862e99e74
- affected fc126c1d51e9552eacd2d717b9ffe9262a8a4cd6 – < 88bea149db2057112af3aaf63534b24fab5858ab
- affected ed4cccef64c1d0d5b91e69f7a8a6697c3a865486 – < 3264881431e308b9c72cb8a0159d57a56d67dd79
- affected ed4cccef64c1d0d5b91e69f7a8a6697c3a865486 – < c114a32a2e70b82d447f409f7ffcfa3058f9d5bd
- affected ed4cccef64c1d0d5b91e69f7a8a6697c3a865486 – < 238e03d0466239410b72294b79494e43d4fabe77
- affected d225b0ac96dc40d7e8ae2bc227eb2c56e130975f
- affected 5b3b67f731296027cceb3efad881ae281213f86f
- affected 6.1.85 – < 6.1.161
- affected 6.6.26 – < 6.6.121
- affected 5.15.154 – < 5.16
- affected 6.8.5 – < 6.9
- affected 6.9
- unaffected < 6.9
- unaffected 6.1.161 – ≤ 6.1.*
- unaffected 6.6.121 – ≤ 6.6.*
- unaffected 6.12.66 – ≤ 6.12.*
- unaffected 6.18.6 – ≤ 6.18.*
- unaffected 6.19 – ≤ *
References
References7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b27828ebd1ed3107d7929c3737adbe862e99e74 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88bea149db2057112af3aaf63534b24fab5858ab (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3264881431e308b9c72cb8a0159d57a56d67dd79 (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c114a32a2e70b82d447f409f7ffcfa3058f9d5bd (opens in a new tab)
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/238e03d0466239410b72294b79494e43d4fabe77 (opens in a new tab)
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html (opens in a new tab)
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html (opens in a new tab)
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2026-4307 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2026-22979)Record last updated .