Bug 2435670 (CVE-2026-23038)

Summary: CVE-2026-23038 kernel: Linux kernel: Memory leak in pnfs/flexfiles can lead to denial of service
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A local user could exploit this flaw by triggering a specific condition in the nfs4_ff_alloc_deviceid_node() function within the pnfs/flexfiles module. This occurs because the dsaddrs list is not properly freed when the allocation for ds_versions fails. This memory leak could result in a Denial of Service (DoS) due to resource exhaustion.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-01-31 12:02:43 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

pnfs/flexfiles: Fix memory leak in nfs4_ff_alloc_deviceid_node()

In nfs4_ff_alloc_deviceid_node(), if the allocation for ds_versions fails,
the function jumps to the out_scratch label without freeing the already
allocated dsaddrs list, leading to a memory leak.

Fix this by jumping to the out_err_drain_dsaddrs label, which properly
frees the dsaddrs list before cleaning up other resources.
Comment 1 TEJ RATHI 2026-02-02 08:16:21 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026013122-CVE-2026-23038-2453@gregkh/T