CVE-2026-23445 igc: fix page fault in XDP TX timestamps handling

High 7.8 Published 3 Apr 2026 Updated 19 Oct 2026

A use-after-free in the igc network driver causes a kernel page fault and system crash when an XDP application shuts down while the link is up.

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

What is CVE-2026-23445?

CVE-2026-23445 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Apr 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:

igc: fix page fault in XDP TX timestamps handling

If an XDP application that requested TX timestamping is shutting down while the link of the interface in use is still up the following kernel splat is reported:

[ 883.803618] [ T1554] BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffcfb6200fd008 ... [ 883.803650] [ T1554] Call Trace: [ 883.803652] [ T1554] <TASK> [ 883.803654] [ T1554] igc_ptp_tx_tstamp_event+0xdf/0x160 [igc] [ 883.803660] [ T1554] igc_tsync_interrupt+0x2d5/0x300 [igc] ...

During shutdown of the TX ring the xsk_meta pointers are left behind, so that the IRQ handler is trying to touch them.

This issue is now being fixed by cleaning up the stale xsk meta data on TX shutdown. TX timestamps on other queues remain unaffected.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23445?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23445?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2026-23445 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23445 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-23445, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23445, GHSA-w2hf-gr87-g9jg, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23445, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23445.