CVE-2026-53355 net: rds: clear i_sends on setup unwind
A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RDS module can cause a denial of service during connection setup failures.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-53355?
CVE-2026-53355 is a critical vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: rds: clear i_sends on setup unwind
The RDS IB connection teardown path is written so it can run during partial startup and on repeated shutdown attempts. It uses NULL pointers to distinguish resources that are still owned from resources that have already been released.
When rds_ib_setup_qp() fails after allocating i_sends but before allocating i_recvs, the sends_out path frees i_sends without clearing the pointer. A later shutdown pass can still treat that stale pointer as a live send ring allocation.
Clear i_sends after vfree() in the error unwind path so the existing shutdown logic continues to use the correct ownership state.
Weakness: CWE-476
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53355?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53355?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-53355 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53355 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-53355, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53355, GHSA-3hv8-6fp5-2gcr, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-53355, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-53355, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-53355 and 2 more.