FKIE_CVE-2026-22979

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-01-23 16:15 - Updated: 2026-02-26 23:37
Severity ?
5.5 (Medium) - CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Summary
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().
References
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b27828ebd1ed3107d7929c3737adbe862e99e74Patch
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/238e03d0466239410b72294b79494e43d4fabe77Patch
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3264881431e308b9c72cb8a0159d57a56d67dd79Patch
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88bea149db2057112af3aaf63534b24fab5858abPatch
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c114a32a2e70b82d447f409f7ffcfa3058f9d5bdPatch
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.9
linux linux_kernel 6.19
linux linux_kernel 6.19
linux linux_kernel 6.19
linux linux_kernel 6.19
To clipboard 

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  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: fix memory leak in skb_segment_list for GRO packets\n\nWhen skb_segment_list() is called during packet forwarding, it handles\npackets that were aggregated by the GRO engine.\n\nHistorically, the segmentation logic in skb_segment_list assumes that\nindividual segments are split from a parent SKB and may need to carry\ntheir own socket memory accounting. Accordingly, the code transfers\ntruesize from the parent to the newly created segments.\n\nPrior to commit ed4cccef64c1 (\"gro: fix ownership transfer\"), this\ntruesize subtraction in skb_segment_list() was valid because fragments\nstill carry a reference to the original socket.\n\nHowever, commit ed4cccef64c1 (\"gro: fix ownership transfer\") changed\nthis behavior by ensuring that fraglist entries are explicitly\norphaned (skb-\u003esk = NULL) to prevent illegal orphaning later in the\nstack. This change meant that the entire socket memory charge remained\nwith the head SKB, but the corresponding accounting logic in\nskb_segment_list() was never updated.\n\nAs a result, the current code unconditionally adds each fragment\u0027s\ntruesize to delta_truesize and subtracts it from the parent SKB. Since\nthe fragments are no longer charged to the socket, this subtraction\nresults in an effective under-count of memory when the head is freed.\nThis causes sk_wmem_alloc to remain non-zero, preventing socket\ndestruction and leading to a persistent memory leak.\n\nThe leak can be observed via KMEMLEAK when tearing down the networking\nenvironment:\n\nunreferenced object 0xffff8881e6eb9100 (size 2048):\n  comm \"ping\", pid 6720, jiffies 4295492526\n  backtrace:\n    kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x5c6/0x800\n    sk_prot_alloc+0x5b/0x220\n    sk_alloc+0x35/0xa00\n    inet6_create.part.0+0x303/0x10d0\n    __sock_create+0x248/0x640\n    __sys_socket+0x11b/0x1d0\n\nSince skb_segment_list() is exclusively used for SKB_GSO_FRAGLIST\npackets constructed by GRO, the truesize adjustment is removed.\n\nThe call to skb_release_head_state() must be preserved. As documented in\ncommit cf673ed0e057 (\"net: fix fraglist segmentation reference count\nleak\"), it is still required to correctly drop references to SKB\nextensions that may be overwritten during __copy_skb_header()."
    }
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  "id": "CVE-2026-22979",
  "lastModified": "2026-02-26T23:37:06.353",
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          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 5.5,
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
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        "exploitabilityScore": 1.8,
        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "type": "Primary"
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  "published": "2026-01-23T16:15:53.893",
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  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
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      "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
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