CVE-2026-45939 gpib: Fix memory leak in ni_usb_init()

What is CVE-2026-45939?

CVE-2026-45939 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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:

gpib: Fix memory leak in ni_usb_init()

In ni_usb_init(), if ni_usb_setup_init() fails, the function returns -EFAULT without freeing the allocated writes buffer, leading to a memory leak.

Additionally, ni_usb_setup_init() returns 0 on failure, which causes ni_usb_init() to return -EFAULT, an inappropriate error code for this situation.

Fix the leak by freeing writes in the error path. Modify ni_usb_setup_init() to return -EINVAL on failure and propagate this error code in ni_usb_init().

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45939?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-45939?

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-2026-45939 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45939 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-45939, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45939, GHSA-gw83-jh7x-85p6, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45939.