net: tls: fix strparser anchor skb leak on offload RX setup failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tls: fix strparser anchor skb leak on offload RX setup failure When tls_set_device_offload_rx() fails at tls_dev_add(), the error path calls tls_sw_free_resources_rx() to clean up the SW context that was initialized by tls_set_sw_offload(). This function calls tls_sw_release_resources_rx() (which stops the strparser via tls_strp_stop()) and tls_sw_free_ctx_rx() (which kfrees the context), but never frees the anchor skb that was allocated by alloc_skb(0) in tls_strp_init(). Note that tls_sw_free_resources_rx() is exclusively used for this "failed to start offload" code path, there's no other caller. The leak did not exist before commit 84c61fe1a75b ("tls: rx: do not use the standard strparser"), because the standard strparser doesn't try to pre-allocate an skb. The normal close path in tls_sk_proto_close() handles cleanup by calling tls_sw_strparser_done() (which calls tls_strp_done()) after dropping the socket lock, because tls_strp_done() does cancel_work_sync() and the strparser work handler takes the socket lock.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.0 and later | 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.0 and later Fixed in 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10, 7.1 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-52974
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5jx6-m427-9p5p
- 2026-10-09 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c9f399b37ce22a5ed94cc51f03ed07ac7f38e32
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/688f12aa44511dd57e448eb670075c6302ad1dc1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c405dfa9619e506e75b8e41f8b29a5b99731877
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c54e76f8d6eb11735918777ef0e0509e089557d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd07fe6c38b9e44ff3fc02692a53f095c5cc9afc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58689498ca3384851145a754dbb1d8ed1cf9fb54
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-52974 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-52974 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5jx6-m427-9p5p · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-52974 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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