Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2026-99047

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Oct 23, 2026

CISA due date

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Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A flaw in a Linux network driver can cause the system to gradually lose track of memory when stopping network operations, potentially leading to slowdowns or crashes if left unaddressed.

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

What it actually does

GVE network driver fails to release XSK buffers attached to allocated buf_state objects during ring reset on queue stop, leaving buffers posted to the NIC unfreed and causing a memory leak.

Why it matters to the business

Repeated queue stop operations can exhaust kernel memory over time, leading to degraded network performance or system instability in affected Linux environments; the issue surfaced in production and carries urgency due to its very recent disclosure.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker or automated process triggers repeated start/stop cycles on GVE queues (via interface configuration changes, link flaps, or driver reloads) to accumulate leaked XSK buffers until memory pressure causes denial of service or forces a reboot.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream kernel patch that frees XSK buffers on ring stop; rebuild and deploy the updated kernel across all affected systems; prioritize patching given the two-day publication window and production impact already observed.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the fix by reviewing the GVE driver source for the added buf_state cleanup logic on ring stop; test by exercising queue stop/start sequences and verifying no XSK buffer leaks via slabinfo or kmemleak reporting.

Typical attack path

  1. Identify or control a system using the GVE driver with XSK rings enabled
  2. Induce queue stop events through interface down/up, driver reload, or network reconfiguration
  3. Repeat the stop operation to accumulate unfreed buffers
  4. Monitor until kernel memory exhaustion manifests as crashes or performance collapse

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for GVE ring stop events paired with rising slab or page allocation failures; inspect kmemleak reports or /proc/slabinfo for persistent XSK buffer growth after queue resets.

What your security team should do

  • Immediately inventory all Linux systems using the GVE driver and schedule kernel updates
  • Monitor for memory pressure indicators on GVE-enabled hosts until patched
  • Apply the fix within the next maintenance window given the recent publication and production hit

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: fix XSK buffer leak when rings are stopped GVE does not free XSK buffers when resetting ring state as a part of stopping queues. This causes all XSK buffers which are posted to the NIC to be leaked. Free XSK buffers attached to an allocated buf_state when stopping rings. This issue was hit in production.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed