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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-53079

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0.10 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click 8 weeks old

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_sched: fix skb memory leak in deferred qdisc drops When the network stack cleans up the deferred list via qdisc_run_end(), it operates on the root qdisc. If the root qdisc do not implement the TCQ_F_DEQUEUE_DROPS flag the packets queue to free are never freed and gets stranded on the child's local to_free list. Fix this by making qdisc_dequeue_drop() aware of the root qdisc. It fetches the root qdisc and check for the TCQ_F_DEQUEUE_DROPS flag. If the flag is present, the packet is appended directly to the root's to_free list. Otherwise, drop it directly as it was done before the optimization was implemented.

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 · high confidence

Memory leak in Linux kernel's network scheduler (net_sched) where packets queued for deferred dropping are never freed when the root qdisc doesn't implement the TCQ_F_DEQUEUE_DROPS flag, causing them to become stranded on the child's local to_free list.

MitigationApply the kernel patch that makes qdisc_dequeue_drop() aware of the root qdisc and properly handles packets based on the TCQ_F_DEQUEUE_DROPS flag. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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:>= 6.19, < 7.0.10

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check the running Linux kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to get the kernel version string
    Affected if The version falls within the affected range (>= 6.19 and < 7.0.10)
  2. Compare kernel version against affected range
    Parse the version number from step 1 and compare: versions 6.19.x through 6.19.y and 6.20.x through 6.20.y up to 7.0.9 are affected; versions below 6.19 or >= 7.0.10 are not
    Affected if The installed kernel version is 6.19 or higher but lower than 7.0.10
  3. Confirm qdisc network scheduler is in use
    Run `tc qdisc show` to list active queueing disciplines; the kernel's qdisc subsystem is active on any interface with a network queueing policy
    Affected if The vulnerability exists in the kernel's qdisc code itself - all systems with active network interfaces use qdisc scheduling, so this condition is trivially true on any affected kernel

The system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel version >= 6.19 and < 7.0.10, as the memory leak resides in core kernel network scheduler code used by all active network interfaces.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 7.0.10 or later
Fixed in 7.0.10
Interim mitigation

Apply the kernel patch that makes qdisc_dequeue_drop() aware of the root qdisc and properly handles packets based on the TCQ_F_DEQUEUE_DROPS flag. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 7.0.10

  1. Check current kernel version with `uname -r` to confirm it's between 6.19 and 7.0.10
  2. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 7.0.10 or later using your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get dist-upgrade`, `yum update`, or building from source)
  3. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  4. Verify the fix is applied by running `uname -r` and confirming the kernel version is >= 7.0.10
Caveat Kernel upgrades require system reboot and may have driver/module compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Linux Kernel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2026-53079 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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