# CVE-2026-68292: ice: prevent tstamp ring allocation for non-PF VSI types

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel ice driver allows local attackers to cause denial of service by triggering PCI resets with ETF offload enabled.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68292, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68292, GHSA-fph8-8r8j-jwfp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68292

## What is CVE-2026-68292?

CVE-2026-68292 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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: prevent tstamp ring allocation for non-PF VSI types

The pf->txtime_txqs bitmap tracks which Tx queues have ETF (Earliest
TxTime First) offload enabled. This bitmap is indexed by queue number
and is set by ice_offload_txtime(), which only operates on PF VSI
queues.

However, ice_is_txtime_ena() does not check the VSI type before
consulting the bitmap. When ETF offload is enabled on PF Tx queue 0,
bit 0 is set in pf->txtime_txqs. During a subsequent PCI reset
rebuild, the CTRL VSI's Tx queue 0 is reconfigured and
ice_is_txtime_ena() is called for that ring. Since it only checks
pf->txtime_txqs by queue index without distinguishing VSI type, it
finds bit 0 set and returns true, matching the PF VSI's ETF queue,
not the CTRL VSI's. This causes ice_vsi_cfg_txq() to spuriously
allocate a tstamp_ring for the CTRL VSI ring.

Since CTRL VSI rings have no associated netdev, ice_clean_tx_ring()
takes an early return at the !netdev check before reaching
ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring(), leaking the allocation. Each PCI reset
leaks one 64-byte tstamp_ring.

Fix this by restricting ice_is_txtime_ena() to return true only for
PF VSI rings, since txtime_txqs is only meaningful for PF VSI queues.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68292?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68292?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68292 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68292 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68292 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68292 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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-2026-68292 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-68292/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68292/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68292
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68292
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68292

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68292/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.