# CVE-2026-72023: octeontx2-pf: fix SQB pointer leak on init failure

> A memory leak in the OcteonTX2 PF driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service upon initialization failure.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 23 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72023, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72023, GHSA-pg89-x9gq-22c7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72023

## What is CVE-2026-72023?

CVE-2026-72023 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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:

octeontx2-pf: fix SQB pointer leak on init failure

otx2_init_hw_resources() initializes SQ aura and pool resources before
several later setup steps. On failure, err_free_sq_ptrs only frees SQB
pages, leaving the per-SQ sqb_ptrs arrays behind.

Use otx2_free_sq_res() for the SQ unwind path and let it free sqb_ptrs
even when sq->sqe has not been allocated yet.

The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are
developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing
v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly
available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still
present in v7.1.1.

An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have an
OcteonTX2 PF device and the corresponding AF mailbox setup to test with,
no runtime testing was able to be performed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72023?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72023?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72023 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72023 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72023 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72023 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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-2026-72023 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-2026-72023/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72023/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72023
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72023
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72023

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72023/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.