CVE-2026-23179 nvmet-tcp: fixup hang in nvmet_tcp_listen_data_ready()
A remote attacker can cause a kernel hang in the NVMe over TCP target by closing a listening socket, leading to a denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-23179?
CVE-2026-23179 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 14 Feb 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
nvmet-tcp: fixup hang in nvmet_tcp_listen_data_ready()
When the socket is closed while in TCP_LISTEN a callback is run to flush all outstanding packets, which in turns calls nvmet_tcp_listen_data_ready() with the sk_callback_lock held. So we need to check if we are in TCP_LISTEN before attempting to get the sk_callback_lock() to avoid a deadlock.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23179?
How do I fix CVE-2026-23179?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-23179 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23179 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-23179, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23179, GHSA-g782-c42f-q4q3, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23179, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23179, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23179 and 1 more.