CVE-2026-53009

ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: June 24, 2026 at 04:29 PM UTC
Updated: October 21, 2026 at 01:19 PM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsLinux KernelEnterprise Linux

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb If ice_tso() or ice_tx_csum() fail, the error path in ice_xmit_frame_ring() frees the skb, but the 'first' tx_buf still points to it and is marked as valid (ICE_TX_BUF_SKB). 'next_to_use' remains unchanged, so the potential problem will likely fix itself when the next packet is transmitted and the tx_buf gets overwritten. But if there is no next packet and the interface is brought down instead, ice_clean_tx_ring() -> ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf() will find the tx_buf and free the skb for the second time. The fix is to reset the tx_buf type to ICE_TX_BUF_EMPTY in the error path, so that ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf(). Move the initialization of 'first' up, to ensure it's already valid in case we hit the linearization error path. The bug was spotted by AI while I had it looking for something else. It also proposed an initial version of the patch. I reproduced the bug and tested the fix by adding code to inject failures, on a build with KASAN. I looked for similar bugs in related Intel drivers and did not find any.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

4.17 ≤ v < 7.0.104.17d76a60ba7afb89523c88cf2ed3a044ce4180289e
Vendor states this is fixed in 1a303baa715e6b78d6a406aaf335f87ff35acfcd (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4c08fc2119ef0281cfa2cee007acf0a251be55f2 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.17 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.114 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.57 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.160 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.0.10 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 0:4.18.0-553.155.1.el8_10 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 0:4.18.0-553.155.1.rt7.496.el8_10 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 0:6.12.0-211.37.1.el10_2 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (13)

Third Party Advisory
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53009
Third Party Advisory
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2492390
Third Party Advisory
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-53009.json
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:42919
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54246
Source: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:54247

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-1341CWE-416CWE-415

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