In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

packet: use ubuf_info completion for TX_RING packets

tpacket_snd sends skbs with frags pointing into its ring slots. Slots
are released when skb->destructor is called.

A call to skb_orphan calls skb->destructor before the skb is freed.
This can cause the slot to be reused while still linked into the skb.

Switch to standard zerocopy completion (ubuf_info) so the slot is only
released once all references to the payload are freed or copied.
Restore skb->destructor to standard sock_wfree.

The ubuf_info completion callback can be called with a NULL skb, but
only from net_zcopy_put and related API, used by zerocopy implementations
that hold their own reference on the uarg, such as MSG_ZEROCOPY. This
uarg is only ever completed from skb_zcopy_clear, so skb is always set.

To prevent userspace from aliasing in-flight state on shared ring
slots, allocate tpacket_uarg per packet, rather than per slot. This
adds a small allocation to the transmit path. Use standard kmalloc to
allow backporting to stable kernels.

The uarg holds an sk_wmem_alloc reference, rather than an sk_refcnt
reference. packet_free_tx_ring waits on sk_wmem_alloc before freeing
the ring pages. Always allocate vec->deferred for tx_ring so page-backed
rings also wait on sk_wmem_alloc when skb_copy_ubufs drops page refs
before calling tpacket_ubuf_complete.

Drop the tx_ring.pg_vec test that tpacket_destruct_skb performed before
accessing the slot. The sk_wmem_alloc reference now guarantees that the
slot is valid. The test is also not sufficient by itself, as it reads
pg_vec without pg_vec_lock, so it can race with packet_set_ring.

As a result a slot is released when its payload is copied, which can
be before transmission (e.g., in skb_orphan_frags_rx). If copied
before skb_tx_timestamp() is called, no slot timestamp is recorded,
similar to when skb_orphan() was called early in the datapath before
this patch.

Revert the now unused previous skb_zcopy_.._nouarg infra.

Depends on commit 992cc9f94ca9 ("net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING
free until skbs finish").
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
CWE-847

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: packet: use ubuf_info completion for TX_RING packets tpacket_snd sends skbs with frags pointing into its ring slots. Slots are released when skb->destructor is called. A call to skb_orphan calls skb->destructor before the skb is freed. This can cause the slot to be reused while still linked into the skb. Switch to standard zerocopy completion (ubuf_info) so the slot is only released once all references to the payload are freed or copied. Restore skb->destructor to standard sock_wfree. The ubuf_info completion callback can be called with a NULL skb, but only from net_zcopy_put and related API, used by zerocopy implementations that hold their own reference on the uarg, such as MSG_ZEROCOPY. This uarg is only ever completed from skb_zcopy_clear, so skb is always set. To prevent userspace from aliasing in-flight state on shared ring slots, allocate tpacket_uarg per packet, rather than per slot. This adds a small allocation to the transmit path. Use standard kmalloc to allow backporting to stable kernels. The uarg holds an sk_wmem_alloc reference, rather than an sk_refcnt reference. packet_free_tx_ring waits on sk_wmem_alloc before freeing the ring pages. Always allocate vec->deferred for tx_ring so page-backed rings also wait on sk_wmem_alloc when skb_copy_ubufs drops page refs before calling tpacket_ubuf_complete. Drop the tx_ring.pg_vec test that tpacket_destruct_skb performed before accessing the slot. The sk_wmem_alloc reference now guarantees that the slot is valid. The test is also not sufficient by itself, as it reads pg_vec without pg_vec_lock, so it can race with packet_set_ring. As a result a slot is released when its payload is copied, which can be before transmission (e.g., in skb_orphan_frags_rx). If copied before skb_tx_timestamp() is called, no slot timestamp is recorded, similar to when skb_orphan() was called early in the datapath before this patch. Revert the now unused previous skb_zcopy_.._nouarg infra. Depends on commit 992cc9f94ca9 ("net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish").
Title packet: use ubuf_info completion for TX_RING packets
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-18T15:17:03.904Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.353Z

Link: CVE-2026-98503

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-18T16:17:01.370

Modified: 2026-10-18T16:17:01.370

Link: CVE-2026-98503

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-18T23:45:07Z

Weaknesses