# CVE-2026-74558: xsk: reclaim invalid Tx descriptors in ZC batch path

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's XSK zero-copy Tx batch parser allows invalid descriptors to leak UMEM frames, potentially causing memory corruption or denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-96294, BELL-CVE-2026-74558, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74558, GHSA-p73g-m689-rxf7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74558

## What is CVE-2026-74558?

CVE-2026-74558 is a 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:

xsk: reclaim invalid Tx descriptors in ZC batch path

The zero-copy Tx batch parser stops when it encounters an invalid
descriptor. If this happens after one or more continuation descriptors,
the Tx consumer can be advanced past fragments that are neither submitted
to the driver nor returned to userspace through the completion ring.

A similar problem occurs when a packet exceeds xdp_zc_max_segs. The
descriptors consumed up to the limit are released without completion, and
the remaining continuation descriptors can subsequently be interpreted
as the beginning of another packet.

Parse Tx batches in packet units and distinguish descriptors belonging to
complete valid packets from descriptors consumed while draining an
invalid or oversized packet. Return the former to the driver and append
the latter to the CQ address area so userspace can reclaim their UMEM
frames.

Treat a standalone invalid descriptor as a one-descriptor reclaim-only
packet. Advancing the Tx-ring consumer releases the ring slot, but does
not by itself return ownership of the referenced UMEM frame to userspace.

Once draining starts, continue until the packet's end-of-packet
descriptor is consumed. Preserve the drain state on the socket when EOP
has not yet been supplied, so draining can continue during a later call.
Leave incomplete but otherwise valid packets on the Tx ring.

Shared-UMEM pools using multi-buffer Tx also need packet-framed parsing.
Walk their Tx sockets one packet at a time, preserving the existing
per-socket fairness scheme, instead of using the legacy one-descriptor
fallback. Keep that fallback for shared pools that do not use
multi-buffer Tx. Since the drain state is maintained per socket and both
the singular and shared paths can resume an interrupted drain, changing
the socket list from singular to shared requires no special bind-time
transition.

CQ entries are positional, and drivers may complete only part of the Tx
work returned by xsk_tx_peek_release_desc_batch(). Therefore, reclaim-only
entries cannot be published immediately when earlier driver-visible
descriptors are still outstanding.

Track the number of driver-visible CQ entries preceding the reclaim
entries. Let xsk_tx_completed() publish partial hardware Tx completions,
and publish the reclaim entries only after every earlier Tx descriptor
has completed. Complete a reclaim-only batch immediately when there is no
driver-visible work in front of it, and prevent another Tx batch from
being appended while reclaim entries remain pending.

Also cap batch processing by the size of the pool's temporary descriptor
array, as Tx rings belonging to sockets sharing a UMEM may have different
sizes.

This ensures that every invalid Tx descriptor consumed by the ZC batch
path is either submitted to the driver as part of a valid packet or
returned to userspace without violating CQ completion ordering.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74558?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74558?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74558 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74558 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74558 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74558 is a 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74558 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-2026-74558/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74558/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74558
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74558
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74558

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74558/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.