Memory Leak in Linux Kernel batman-adv Module

Publication date: 2026-06-24

Last updated on: 2026-07-08

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: clear current gateway during teardown batadv_gw_node_free() removes the gateway list entries during mesh teardown, but it does not clear the currently selected gateway. This leaves stale gateway state behind across cleanup and can break a later mesh recreation. Clear bat_priv->gw.curr_gw before walking the gateway list so the selected gateway reference is dropped as part of teardown.

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Meta Information

Published

2026-06-24

Last Modified

2026-07-08

Generated

2026-07-14

AI Q&A

2026-06-24

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-13

NVD

CVE-2026-52926

EUVD

EUVD-2026-38729

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	7.1
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.175 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.209 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.7 (inc) to 6.12.92 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.34 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.19 (inc) to 7.0.11 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.2 (inc) to 6.6.142 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 3.1 (inc) to 5.10.258 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's batman-adv component, which manages mesh networking gateways. During the teardown process of the mesh network, the function batadv_gw_node_free() removes entries from the gateway list but fails to clear the reference to the currently selected gateway. This results in stale gateway state remaining after cleanup, which can cause issues when the mesh network is recreated later.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is that stale gateway references remain after a mesh network teardown, potentially breaking the recreation of the mesh network. This could lead to network instability or failure in mesh networking environments that rely on batman-adv, affecting connectivity and network reliability.

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