# CVE-2026-72058: net: ixp4xx_hss: fix duplicate HDLC netdev allocation

> A memory management error in the ixp4xx_hss driver causes use-after-free or double-free conditions, potentially leading to system crashes or arbitrary code execution.

- **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-2026-72058, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72058, GHSA-c9wj-7pm2-vx6f, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72058

## What is CVE-2026-72058?

CVE-2026-72058 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:

net: ixp4xx_hss: fix duplicate HDLC netdev allocation

ixp4xx_hss_probe() allocates two HDLC netdevs. The first one is stored
in ndev, initialized, and registered with register_hdlc_device(). The
second one is stored in port->netdev and later used by the remove path
for unregister_hdlc_device() and free_netdev().

This means that the registered netdev is not the same object that is
unregistered and freed on remove. It also leaks the first allocation if
the second alloc_hdlcdev() call fails, and the first allocation is not
checked before ndev is used.

Older code allocated the HDLC netdev only once and stored the same object
in both the local variable and port->netdev. The buggy conversion split
this into two alloc_hdlcdev() calls. A later rename changed the local
variable name to ndev, but the underlying mismatch remained.

Fix this by allocating the HDLC netdev only once and assigning the same
object to port->netdev.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72058?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72058?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72058 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72058 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72058 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72058 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-2026-72058 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-2026-72058/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72058/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72058
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72058
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72058

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72058/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.