# 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.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **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, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-53355, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53355

## 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 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53355?

It affects 1 product.


Products: 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

- [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-2026-53355 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53355 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-2026-53355/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53355/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53355
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53355
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53355

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53355/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.