# CVE-2026-97979: ice: add missing xa_destroy for sched_node_ids

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel ice driver can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104730, BELL-CVE-2026-97979, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97979, GHSA-f354-573p-458p, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97979

## What is CVE-2026-97979?

CVE-2026-97979 is a denial of service 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:

ice: add missing xa_destroy for sched_node_ids

Commit 16dfa49406bc ("ice: Introduce new parameters in ice_sched_node")
added a sched_node_ids xarray to the port info structure, but never called
xa_destroy on it.

Since xarrays can allocate internal memory, this can result in a memory
leak even if every element in the xarray has been removed.

The xarray is currently embedded in the port_info structure. This appears
to have been done because its use is within functions that take the
port_info as a primary argument.

However, this complicates managing the lifecycle of the field. The
port_info structure is allocated in ice_init_hw() using devm, and it is
not released until the devm cleanup when the driver is unloaded.

The ice_init_hw() function is called in many places, including devlink
reload, and possibly during DDP load after updating the Tx scheduler
layout.

Adding a call of xa_destroy to the ice_deinit_hw() causes Sashiko to raise
multiple concerns due to potential ordering issues and possible ways that
port_info could be a dangling reference.

To handle this, move the sched_node_ids out of port_info and into the hw
structure. All users of the array already have a pointer to hw anyways, and
there is only one sched_node_ids per adapter. While here, remove the overly
verbose comment explaining the nature of the sched_node_ids xarray.

Add the missing xa_destroy to the cleanup path and to ice_deinit_hw(),
ensuring that we properly release the xarray memory.

This was caught by Sashiko during development of unrelated code.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97979?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97979?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97979 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97979 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97979 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97979 is a denial of service 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97979 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-2026-97979/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97979/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97979
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97979
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97979

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97979/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.