# CVE-2026-23339: nfc: nci: free skb on nci_transceive early error paths

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel NFC subsystem allows local attackers to exhaust system memory, potentially causing a denial of service.

- **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:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23339, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23339, GHSA-77ph-fpqv-c298, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23339, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23339, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23339, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23339, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23339, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23339

## What is CVE-2026-23339?

CVE-2026-23339 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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:

nfc: nci: free skb on nci_transceive early error paths

nci_transceive() takes ownership of the skb passed by the caller,
but the -EPROTO, -EINVAL, and -EBUSY error paths return without
freeing it.

Due to issues clearing NCI_DATA_EXCHANGE fixed by subsequent changes
the nci/nci_dev selftest hits the error path occasionally in NIPA,
and kmemleak detects leaks:

unreferenced object 0xff11000015ce6a40 (size 640):
  comm "nci_dev", pid 3954, jiffies 4295441246
  hex dump (first 32 bytes):
    6b 6b 6b 6b 00 a4 00 0c 02 e1 03 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b  kkkk.......kkkkk
    6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b 6b  kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
  backtrace (crc 7c40cc2a):
    kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof+0x492/0x630
    __alloc_skb+0x11e/0x5f0
    alloc_skb_with_frags+0xc6/0x8f0
    sock_alloc_send_pskb+0x326/0x3f0
    nfc_alloc_send_skb+0x94/0x1d0
    rawsock_sendmsg+0x162/0x4c0
    do_syscall_64+0x117/0xfc0

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23339?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23339?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23339 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23339 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-2026-23339 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23339 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 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-2026-23339 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-2026-23339/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23339/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23339
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23339
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23339

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23339/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.