Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-53087
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: bcmgenet: fix leaking free_bds While reclaiming the tx queue we fast forward the write pointer to drop any data in flight. These dropped frames are not added back to the pool of free bds. We also need to tell the netdev that we are dropping said data.
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 confidenceIn the Linux kernel's Broadcom GENET network driver (bcmgenet), when reclaiming the transmit queue, the code fast-forwards the write pointer to drop in-flight data. However, the buffer descriptors (bds) for these dropped frames are not returned to the free pool, causing a resource leak. Additionally, the netdev is not notified about the dropped data.
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
>= 6.15, < 6.18.33>= 6.19, < 7.0.10CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify bcmgenet network interfacesRun 'ls /sys/class/net/' to list network interfaces, then check each interface's driver via 'cat /sys/class/net/<iface>/device/driver' or 'ethtool -i <iface>'. Look for interfaces using the 'bcmgenet' driver.Affected if Any network interface is bound to the bcmgenet driver
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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -r' to get the kernel version. Compare it to the version that includes the fix for this buffer descriptor leak (check your distribution's kernel release notes for the CVE fix date).Affected if The kernel version is older than the version containing the fix for this CVE
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Monitor TX queue buffer descriptor exhaustionCheck TX queue statistics using 'ip -s link show <iface>' or 'cat /sys/class/net/<iface>/statistics/tx_queue_*' (if available). Look for increasing dropped packet counts or TX queue errors.Affected if The system shows abnormal TX drops or queue errors that correlate with high traffic on the bcmgenet interface
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Verify driver versionRun 'modinfo bcmgenet' to check the driver version and compare against the version that contains the fix for this leak.Affected if The driver version predates the fix for this CVE
A system is affected if it runs the bcmgenet driver on a kernel version that does not include the fix for the TX buffer descriptor leak during queue reclamation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data6.18.337.0.10
The fix requires ensuring dropped buffer descriptors are returned to the free pool during tx queue reclamation, and the network device must be notified about dropped frames to properly update statistics and trigger any necessary error handling.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53087 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-53087 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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