Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-22979

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.16 / 6.1.161 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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().

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.15.154, < 5.16>= 6.1.85, < 6.1.161>= 6.6.26, < 6.6.121>= 6.8.5, < 6.9>= 6.9.1, < 6.12.66>= 6.13, < 6.18.6= 6.9= 6.19

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.16 / 6.1.161 / 6.6.121 or later
Fixed in 5.166.1.1616.6.121
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 5.16+, 6.1.161+, 6.6.121+, or 6.9+ (choose the latest stable release in your respective branch)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix commit 0b27828ebd1ed3107d7929c3737adbe862e99e74.
  2. For kernel 5.15.x: upgrade to 5.16 or later.
  3. For kernel 6.1.x: upgrade to 6.1.161 or later.
  4. For kernel 6.6.x: upgrade to 6.6.121 or later.
  5. For kernel 6.8.x: upgrade to 6.9 or later.
  6. After kernel upgrade, verify the fix by checking that sk_wmem_alloc correctly reaches zero when tearing down networking connections that used GRO fraglist packets (e.g., ping over IPv6).
  7. Optionally, run KMEMLEAK scan to confirm no new memory leaks related to socket allocation are present.
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - ensure compatibility with custom modules, drivers, and system requirements before deploying in production.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-22979 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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