Bug 2528684 (CVE-2026-80841) - CVE-2026-80841 kernel: net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish
Summary: CVE-2026-80841 kernel: net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-80841
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
high
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Product Security
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-09-04 16:23 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-10-06 17:00 UTC (History)
17 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed:
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-04 16:23:59 UTC
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.


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