CVE-2026-99043 ice: fix metadata_dst refcount handling on representor teardown
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-99043?
CVE-2026-99043 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ice: fix metadata_dst refcount handling on representor teardown
ice_eswitch_release_repr() uses metadata_dst_free() to release the representor's metadata_dst. metadata_dst_free() directly frees the underlying memory without checking the dst_entry refcount.
When ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit() processes a packet, it takes a reference via dst_hold() and attaches the metadata_dst to the skb. If the representor is torn down while packets are still queued on the lower device (e.g. in a qdisc), the metadata_dst is freed while references are still held.
Use dst_release() instead, which correctly decrements the refcount and only frees the object when all references are dropped. The dst subsystem already handles metadata_dst cleanup in dst_destroy() when DST_METADATA is set.
Other drivers sharing this pattern (nfp, airoha, bnxt) already use dst_release() for their metadata_dst lifecycle.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-99043?
How do I fix CVE-2026-99043?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Is CVE-2026-99043 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-99043 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-110921, BELL-CVE-2026-99043, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-99043, GHSA-45qx-wx52-595w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-99043.