# CVE-2026-23022: idpf: fix memory leak in idpf_vc_core_deinit()

> A memory leak in the idpf network driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service during device resets.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 31 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23022, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23022, GHSA-g5x6-9f94-cqrf, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23022

## What is CVE-2026-23022?

CVE-2026-23022 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 31 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

idpf: fix memory leak in idpf_vc_core_deinit()

Make sure to free hw->lan_regs. Reported by kmemleak during reset:

unreferenced object 0xff1b913d02a936c0 (size 96):
  comm "kworker/u258:14", pid 2174, jiffies 4294958305
  hex dump (first 32 bytes):
    00 00 00 c0 a8 ba 2d ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ......-.........
    00 00 40 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 25 b3 a8 ba 2d ff  ..@.......%...-.
  backtrace (crc 36063c4f):
    __kmalloc_noprof+0x48f/0x890
    idpf_vc_core_init+0x6ce/0x9b0 [idpf]
    idpf_vc_event_task+0x1fb/0x350 [idpf]
    process_one_work+0x226/0x6d0
    worker_thread+0x19e/0x340
    kthread+0x10f/0x250
    ret_from_fork+0x251/0x2b0
    ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23022?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23022?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23022 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23022 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23022 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23022 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 31 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23022 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23022/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23022/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23022
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23022
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23022

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23022/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.