CVE-2026-74545 rtase: fix double free of multi-frag skb on DMA map failure
A double free vulnerability in the Linux kernel rtase driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code via crafted network packets.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-74545?
CVE-2026-74545 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
rtase: fix double free of multi-frag skb on DMA map failure
In rtase_start_xmit(), when the head buffer DMA mapping fails after rtase_xmit_frags() has mapped all fragments, the error path clears the fragment descriptors with rtase_tx_clear_range(), which frees the skb through the last-frag slot and accounts tx_dropped. Control then falls through to the common error label, which frees the same skb a second time and counts it again.
Return right after clearing the fragments when the skb owns frags; the no-frag case still drops through and frees the head skb once.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74545?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74545?
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-2026-74545 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74545 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-74545, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74545, GHSA-v487-w46v-372v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74545.