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.
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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.
Title net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Projects

Sign in to view the affected projects.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-04T15:54:51.459Z

Reserved: 2026-08-26T14:34:25.796Z

Link: CVE-2026-80841

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-04T16:18:12.607

Modified: 2026-09-04T16:18:12.607

Link: CVE-2026-80841

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-09-04T21:45:17Z

Weaknesses

No weakness.