CVE-2026-72448 octeontx2-pf: Fix leak of SQ timestamp buffer on teardown
A memory leak in the OcteonTX2 network driver allows local attackers to exhaust kernel memory by repeatedly toggling the interface, causing denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72448?
CVE-2026-72448 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 leak of SQ timestamp buffer on teardown
The send-queue timestamp ring is allocated with qmem_alloc() when timestamping is used, but otx2_free_sq_res() never freed sq->timestamps, leaking that memory across ifdown and device removal. Add the missing qmem_free() alongside the other SQ companion buffers.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72448?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72448?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-72448 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72448 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72448, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72448, GHSA-76vp-9x4g-cm7p, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72448.