# CVE-2026-72109: net: sparx5: unregister blocking notifier on init failure

> A resource leak in the Sparx5 network driver occurs if workqueue allocation fails, potentially leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72109, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72109, GHSA-m3g3-ff8f-v2gj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72109

## What is CVE-2026-72109?

CVE-2026-72109 is a high-severity 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: sparx5: unregister blocking notifier on init failure

sparx5_register_notifier_blocks() registers the switchdev blocking
notifier before allocating the ordered workqueue. If the workqueue
allocation fails, the error path unregisters the switchdev and netdevice
notifiers, but leaves the blocking notifier registered.

Add a separate error label for the workqueue allocation failure path and
unregister the switchdev blocking notifier there.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72109?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72109?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72109 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72109 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72109 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72109 is a high-severity 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-2026-72109 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-2026-72109/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72109/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72109
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72109
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72109

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72109/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.