Memory leak in Linux kernel vsock datagram receive callback
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel vsock VMCI transport is affected from 3.9 until fixed in 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 and 7.3. When a datagram socket is closed, packets received during the close are queued in the socket backlog and moved back to the receive queue after it was cleared, so they are never freed and kernel memory leaks.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock: Fix memory leak in vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() During the closure of a datagram socket, the vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb() function may be called, which will add the packets to the socket's backlog; then, after the receive queue is cleared, the __release_sock() function will move the packet back from the socket's backlog to the receive queue, which will lead to a memory leak. sock_close __sock_release __vsock_release // take ownership by user-space lock_sock_nested sock_set_flag(sk, SOCK_DEAD) vmci_transport_release vmci_dispatch_dgs vmci_datagram_invoke_guest_handler vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb sk_receive_skb if (!sock_owned_by_user(sk)) [...] (!) else if sk_add_backlog() [...] (!) skb_queue_purge(&sk->sk_receive_queue) release_sock __release_sock // move all packets from the backlog // to the receive queue (!) sk_backlog_rcv vsock_queue_rcv_skb [...] __sock_queue_rcv_skb if (!sock_flag(sk, SOCK_DEAD)) // Since the socket is "dead", the function will not // be called sk->sk_data_ready(sk) sock_release_ownership(sk); sock_put Add a receive queue cleanup in the socket destructor to fix this. syzkaller report: unreferenced object 0xffff8880117bfb80 (size 240): comm "irq/56-vmw_vmci", pid 205, jiffies 4295064448 (age 73.992s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 78 dc 26 1e 80 88 ff ff 78 dc 26 1e 80 88 ff ff x.&.....x.&..... 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 c0 da 26 1e 80 88 ff ff ..........&..... backtrace: [<ffffffff82be8d97>] __alloc_skb+0x287/0x330 net/core/skbuff.c:505 [<ffffffffa114bcbd>] vmci_transport_recv_dgram_cb+0xbd/0x210 [vmw_vsock_vmci_transport] [<ffffffffa05072c6>] vmci_datagram_invoke_guest_handler+0x366/0x450 [vmw_vmci] [<ffffffffa050ad75>] vmci_dispatch_dgs+0x235/0x490 [vmw_vmci] [<ffffffffa050b025>] vmci_interrupt+0x55/0x290 [vmw_vmci] [<ffffffff8137ad2b>] irq_thread_fn+0x8b/0x1a0 kernel/irq/manage.c:1205 [<ffffffff8137c7ae>] irq_thread+0x28e/0x530 kernel/irq/manage.c:1314 [<ffffffff81253dd6>] kthread+0x2e6/0x3a0 kernel/kthread.c:376 [<ffffffff81004392>] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:295 Found by InfoTeCS on behalf of Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Update the Linux kernel to 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 or 7.3, which fix the flaw on each branch. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 are affected with no fix plan available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-29
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11, 7.3
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 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98947
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-cf52-4qc8-h2h9
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 CVSS score added · Red Hat
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98947 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98947 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cf52-4qc8-h2h9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98947 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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