CVE-2026-97574 bnxt_en: Don't free the live ring's TPA state on queue restart failure
A use-after-free vulnerability in the bnxt_en network driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code via queue restart failures.
- 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-2026-97574?
CVE-2026-97574 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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:
bnxt_en: Don't free the live ring's TPA state on queue restart failure
bnxt_queue_mem_alloc() shallow copies the live RX ring into the clone:
memcpy(clone, rxr, sizeof(*rxr));
the code currently clears pointers that the clone owns (such as rx_agg_bmap), but rx_tpa and rx_tpa_idx_map are left pointing at memory of the live ring that was cloned.
If an allocation failure happens later and the err_free_tpa_info label is taken, the live ring's memory can be freed while still in use.
Fix this by initializing the clone's pointers to NULL to prevent live ring state from being freed inadvertently.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97574?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97574?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-97574 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97574 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-97574, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97574, GHSA-3q52-v35w-h242, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97574.