# CVE-2026-53008: ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup

> A race condition in the Linux kernel ice driver can cause a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53008, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53008, GHSA-gqxp-fj3h-cr3v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53008

## What is CVE-2026-53008?

CVE-2026-53008 is a medium-severity 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:

ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup

Fix a race condition between ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() and ice_tx_map()
that can cause a NULL pointer dereference.

ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring currently clears the ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME flag
after NULLing the tstamp_ring. This could allow a concurrent ice_tx_map
call on another CPU to dereference the tstamp_ring, which could lead to
a NULL pointer dereference.

  CPU A:ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() | CPU B:ice_tx_map()
  --------------------------------|---------------------------------
  tx_ring->tstamp_ring = NULL     |
                                  | ice_is_txtime_cfg() -> true
                                  | tstamp_ring = tx_ring->tstamp_ring
                                  | tstamp_ring->count  // NULL deref!
  flags &= ~ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME   |

Fix by:
1. Reordering ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() to clear the flag before
   NULLing the pointer, with smp_wmb() to ensure proper ordering.
2. Adding smp_rmb() in ice_tx_map() after the flag check to order the
   flag read before the pointer read, using READ_ONCE() for the
   pointer, and adding a NULL check as a safety net.
3. Converting tx_ring->flags from u8 to DECLARE_BITMAP() and using
   atomic bitops (set_bit(), clear_bit(), test_bit()) for all flag
   operations throughout the driver:
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_XDP
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG1
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG2
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_TXTIME

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53008?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53008?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53008 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53008 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-2026-53008 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53008 is a medium-severity 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-2026-53008 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-2026-53008/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53008/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53008
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53008
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53008

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53008/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.