Vulnerability-Lookup

GHSA-MQXQ-XQ56-PCHW

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-19 15:30 – Updated: 2026-07-20 15:31

Details

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

esp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure

In esp_output_tail(), when esp->inplace is false, the old skb page frags are replaced with a new page from the xfrm page_frag cache. The source scatterlist (sg) is built from the old frags before the replacement, and esp_ssg_unref() is responsible for releasing the old page references after the crypto operation completes.

However, if the second skb_to_sgvec() call (which builds the destination scatterlist from the new page) fails, the code jumps to error_free which only calls kfree(tmp). The old page frag references captured in the source scatterlist are never released:

sg[] is built from old frags via skb_to_sgvec() (no extra get_page)
nr_frags is set to 1 and frag[0] is replaced with the new page
Second skb_to_sgvec() fails -> goto error_free
kfree(tmp) frees the sg[] memory but old frags are not unref'd
kfree_skb() only releases frag[0] (the new page), not the old ones

Fix this by adding a bool parameter to esp_ssg_unref() that, when true, unconditionally unrefs the source scatterlist frags without checking req->src and req->dst, since those fields are not yet initialized by aead_request_set_crypt() at the point of the error. Existing callers pass false to preserve the original behavior.

The same issue exists in both esp4 and esp6 as the code is identical.

Severity

7.5 (High)


                  
                    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-63872"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-07-19T15:16:54Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nesp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure\n\nIn esp_output_tail(), when esp-\u003einplace is false, the old skb page frags\nare replaced with a new page from the xfrm page_frag cache. The source\nscatterlist (sg) is built from the old frags before the replacement, and\nesp_ssg_unref() is responsible for releasing the old page references\nafter the crypto operation completes.\n\nHowever, if the second skb_to_sgvec() call (which builds the destination\nscatterlist from the new page) fails, the code jumps to error_free which\nonly calls kfree(tmp). The old page frag references captured in the\nsource scatterlist are never released:\n\n  1. sg[] is built from old frags via skb_to_sgvec() (no extra get_page)\n  2. nr_frags is set to 1 and frag[0] is replaced with the new page\n  3. Second skb_to_sgvec() fails -\u003e goto error_free\n  4. kfree(tmp) frees the sg[] memory but old frags are not unref\u0027d\n  5. kfree_skb() only releases frag[0] (the new page), not the old ones\n\nFix this by adding a bool parameter to esp_ssg_unref() that, when true,\nunconditionally unrefs the source scatterlist frags without checking\nreq-\u003esrc and req-\u003edst, since those fields are not yet initialized by\naead_request_set_crypt() at the point of the error. Existing callers\npass false to preserve the original behavior.\n\nThe same issue exists in both esp4 and esp6 as the code is identical.",
  "id": "GHSA-mqxq-xq56-pchw",
  "modified": "2026-07-20T15:31:49Z",
  "published": "2026-07-19T15:30:28Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63872"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2982e599fff6faa21c8df147d96fc7af6c1a2f24"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e705b8ff4dd38fb8fe4e6fdc5378a86acea4feb5"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

CVE-2026-63872 (GCVE-0-2026-63872)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-19 14:18 – Updated: 2026-07-20 13:41

Title

esp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: esp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure In esp_output_tail(), when esp->inplace is false, the old skb page frags are replaced with a new page from the xfrm page_frag cache. The source scatterlist (sg) is built from the old frags before the replacement, and esp_ssg_unref() is responsible for releasing the old page references after the crypto operation completes. However, if the second skb_to_sgvec() call (which builds the destination scatterlist from the new page) fails, the code jumps to error_free which only calls kfree(tmp). The old page frag references captured in the source scatterlist are never released: 1. sg[] is built from old frags via skb_to_sgvec() (no extra get_page) 2. nr_frags is set to 1 and frag[0] is replaced with the new page 3. Second skb_to_sgvec() fails -> goto error_free 4. kfree(tmp) frees the sg[] memory but old frags are not unref'd 5. kfree_skb() only releases frag[0] (the new page), not the old ones Fix this by adding a bool parameter to esp_ssg_unref() that, when true, unconditionally unrefs the source scatterlist frags without checking req->src and req->dst, since those fields are not yet initialized by aead_request_set_crypt() at the point of the error. Existing callers pass false to preserve the original behavior. The same issue exists in both esp4 and esp6 as the code is identical.

Severity

7.5 (High)


                        
                          CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Assigner

Linux

References

2 references

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e705b8ff4dd38fb8f…
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2982e599fff6faa21…

Impacted products

2 products

Vendor	Product	Version
Linux	Linux	Affected: cac2661c53f35cbe651bef9b07026a5a05ab8ce0 , < e705b8ff4dd38fb8fe4e6fdc5378a86acea4feb5 (git) Affected: cac2661c53f35cbe651bef9b07026a5a05ab8ce0 , < 2982e599fff6faa21c8df147d96fc7af6c1a2f24 (git)
Linux	Linux	Affected: 4.11 Unaffected: 0 , < 4.11 (semver) Unaffected: 7.0.13 , ≤ 7.0.* (semver) Unaffected: 7.1 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)

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JSON

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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/ipv4/esp4.c",
            "net/ipv6/esp6.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "e705b8ff4dd38fb8fe4e6fdc5378a86acea4feb5",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "cac2661c53f35cbe651bef9b07026a5a05ab8ce0",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "2982e599fff6faa21c8df147d96fc7af6c1a2f24",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "cac2661c53f35cbe651bef9b07026a5a05ab8ce0",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/ipv4/esp4.c",
            "net/ipv6/esp6.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "4.11"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "4.11",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.0.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.0.13",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.0.13",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.11",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.1",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.11",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nesp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure\n\nIn esp_output_tail(), when esp-\u003einplace is false, the old skb page frags\nare replaced with a new page from the xfrm page_frag cache. The source\nscatterlist (sg) is built from the old frags before the replacement, and\nesp_ssg_unref() is responsible for releasing the old page references\nafter the crypto operation completes.\n\nHowever, if the second skb_to_sgvec() call (which builds the destination\nscatterlist from the new page) fails, the code jumps to error_free which\nonly calls kfree(tmp). The old page frag references captured in the\nsource scatterlist are never released:\n\n  1. sg[] is built from old frags via skb_to_sgvec() (no extra get_page)\n  2. nr_frags is set to 1 and frag[0] is replaced with the new page\n  3. Second skb_to_sgvec() fails -\u003e goto error_free\n  4. kfree(tmp) frees the sg[] memory but old frags are not unref\u0027d\n  5. kfree_skb() only releases frag[0] (the new page), not the old ones\n\nFix this by adding a bool parameter to esp_ssg_unref() that, when true,\nunconditionally unrefs the source scatterlist frags without checking\nreq-\u003esrc and req-\u003edst, since those fields are not yet initialized by\naead_request_set_crypt() at the point of the error. Existing callers\npass false to preserve the original behavior.\n\nThe same issue exists in both esp4 and esp6 as the code is identical."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 7.5,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          }
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-07-20T13:41:04.348Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e705b8ff4dd38fb8fe4e6fdc5378a86acea4feb5"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2982e599fff6faa21c8df147d96fc7af6c1a2f24"
        }
      ],
      "title": "esp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-63872",
    "datePublished": "2026-07-19T14:18:40.499Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-07-19T07:54:57.017Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-07-20T13:41:04.348Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date	Other

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

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GHSA-MQXQ-XQ56-PCHW

CVE-2026-63872 (GCVE-0-2026-63872)

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Nomenclature