# CVE-2026-52994: vsock/virtio: fix MSG_ZEROCOPY pinned-pages accounting

> A flaw in Linux kernel vsock/virtio allows bypassing memory lock limits, potentially leading to resource exhaustion and 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:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-52994, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52994, GHSA-c44p-q7r3-5852, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-52994, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-52994, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52994

## What is CVE-2026-52994?

CVE-2026-52994 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 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:

vsock/virtio: fix MSG_ZEROCOPY pinned-pages accounting

virtio_transport_init_zcopy_skb() uses iter->count as the size argument
for msg_zerocopy_realloc(), which in turn passes it to
mm_account_pinned_pages() for RLIMIT_MEMLOCK accounting. However, this
function is called after virtio_transport_fill_skb() has already consumed
the iterator via __zerocopy_sg_from_iter(), so on the last skb, iter->count
will be 0, skipping the RLIMIT_MEMLOCK enforcement.

Pass pkt_len (the total bytes being sent) as an explicit parameter to
virtio_transport_init_zcopy_skb() instead of reading the already-consumed
iter->count.

This matches TCP and UDP, which both call msg_zerocopy_realloc() with
the original message size.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52994?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52994?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-52994 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52994 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-2026-52994 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52994 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 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-2026-52994 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-2026-52994/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52994/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52994
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52994
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52994

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52994/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.