Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2026-68331

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Aug 10, 2026

CISA due date

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Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in certain Linux networking drivers can slowly consume memory when network links are repeatedly connected and disconnected, eventually harming system stability.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Local User
Complexity
Moderate
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Memory Corruption
Remediation
Patch
Effort
Low
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

The dpaa2-eth driver fails to release a device reference acquired via device_find_child() during MAC disconnect, leaving the reference in mac->mc_dev and leaking the object for every connect/disconnect cycle.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using the affected driver experience gradual memory exhaustion after repeated MAC connect/disconnect operations, potentially leading to degraded performance or crashes in long-running network appliances.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with the ability to trigger repeated Ethernet connect and disconnect events on DPAA2 hardware can cause the reference leak to accumulate until memory pressure forces a denial of service.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream kernel fix that drops the endpoint device reference after closing the MAC and before freeing the dpaa2_mac object; rebuild and deploy the patched kernel on all affected systems.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the presence of the reference-drop logic in the disconnect path of dpaa2-eth.c; monitor kernel memory statistics for the absence of incremental leaks after repeated connect/disconnect cycles.

Typical attack path

  1. Obtain ability to control MAC connect/disconnect operations on a DPAA2 Ethernet interface
  2. Repeatedly establish and tear down the MAC connection
  3. Observe progressive memory consumption without corresponding release of device references
  4. Continue until memory exhaustion produces system instability or crash

How to detect it

Review kernel logs and memory accounting for repeated allocation of dpaa2_mac and endpoint device objects without corresponding releases; correlate with MAC connect/disconnect events in the driver.

What your security team should do

  • Identify all hosts running the vulnerable dpaa2-eth driver and schedule kernel updates
  • Prioritize patching on systems where MAC connect/disconnect events occur frequently
  • Add memory-usage monitoring for dpaa2_eth objects to detect anomalous growth
  • Review hardware configuration to minimize unnecessary MAC endpoint cycling

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dpaa2-eth: put MAC endpoint device on disconnect fsl_mc_get_endpoint() returns the MAC endpoint device with a reference taken through device_find_child(). The Ethernet connect path stores that device in mac->mc_dev and keeps it for the lifetime of the connected MAC object. However, the disconnect path only disconnects and closes the MAC before freeing the dpaa2_mac object. It does not drop the endpoint device reference stored in mac->mc_dev, so every successful connect leaks that device reference when the MAC is later disconnected. Drop the endpoint device reference after closing the MAC and before freeing the dpaa2_mac object.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed