CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-80983

Low risk· EPSS 6%
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.17%

6th percentile - higher than 6% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the net/smc module's smc_switch_conns() takes a reference on the SMC socket before dropping lgr->conns_lock so the connection stays alive while the CDC slot is fetched. The err_out label only drops the wr_tx link reference, so this early exit returns without the matching sock_put(). A leaked sk_refcnt means the smc_sock is never destroyed, its buffers stay allocated, and the network namespace reference is never released, preventing netns teardown. The fix restructures so a single sock_put() covers both outcomes.

Risk Assessment

A leaked socket reference leads to permanent memory leaks and prevents network namespace removal, which can block administrative operations and exhaust system resources.

Recommendation

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix. Monitor systems using SMC for growing memory usage and netns removal issues.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix socket refcount leak in smc_switch_conns() smc_switch_conns() takes a reference on the SMC socket before dropping lgr->conns_lock, so the connection stays alive while the CDC slot is fetched: sock_hold(&smc->sk); read_unlock_bh(&lgr->conns_lock); /* pre-fetch buffer outside of send_lock, might sleep */ rc = smc_cdc_get_free_slot(conn, to_lnk, &wr_buf, NULL, &pend); if (rc) goto err_out; The err_out label only drops the wr_tx link reference, so this early exit returns without the matching sock_put(). The second error exit is not affected, because sock_put() has already run by then. A leaked sk_refcnt means the smc_sock is never destroyed. Its send and receive buffers stay allocated, and for a user socket the reference held on the network namespace is never released, so the netns can no longer be torn down. smc_cdc_get_free_slot() fails when the target link goes down or when the connection has been killed while the switch is in progress. Both are reachable during the link failover this function implements, so the leak is triggered by the same hardware events that make smc_switch_conns() run in the first place. Restructure so there is a single sock_put() covering both outcomes, instead of adding a second one to the error path.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS