# CVE-2026-74626: NTB: ntb_netdev: Preserve RX queue depth on allocation failure

> Attackers can cause network reception stalls in the Linux kernel NTB driver by triggering memory allocation failures that deplete the RX queue.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74626, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74626, GHSA-2vc2-fj43-9qhc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74626

## What is CVE-2026-74626?

CVE-2026-74626 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:

NTB: ntb_netdev: Preserve RX queue depth on allocation failure

ntb_netdev_rx_handler() hands the received skb to the network stack
before allocating its replacement. If the allocation fails, nothing is
reposted. Every failure therefore takes one buffer out of the RX queue
while the interface remains up, and enough failures eventually stall
reception.

A retry path could refill the queue later, but ntb_netdev has none.
Allocate the replacement first instead. If that fails, drop the packet
and repost the same skb. This keeps the queue full and lets packet
delivery resume as soon as memory is available again.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74626?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74626?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74626 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74626 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74626 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74626 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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-2026-74626 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-2026-74626/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74626/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74626
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74626
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74626

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74626/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.