CVE-2026-72006
Received Received - Intake

Memory Leak in Linux Kernel's mlx5 Driver

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-15

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: free mlx5_st_idx_data on final dealloc Workloads that repeatedly allocate and release mkeys carrying TPH steering-tag hints (e.g. churning RDMA MRs) leak one struct mlx5_st_idx_data per cycle; kmemleak flags it as unreferenced and the kmalloc slab grows over time. When the last reference to an ST table entry is dropped, mlx5_st_dealloc_index() removed the entry from idx_xa but the backing mlx5_st_idx_data allocation was never freed. Free idx_data after the xa_erase() so the lifetime of the bookkeeping struct matches the lifetime of the ST entry it tracks.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-15
Last Modified
2026-08-15
Generated
2026-08-15
AI Q&A
2026-08-15
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-72006
EUVD
EUVD-2026-59105

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This is a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mlx5 driver. It occurs when workloads repeatedly allocate and release memory keys (mkeys) with steering-tag hints, such as in RDMA memory region churning. The issue causes the kmalloc slab to grow over time because the struct mlx5_st_idx_data is not freed when the last reference to an ST table entry is dropped.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability causes memory leaks in the Linux kernel's mlx5 driver. Detect it by monitoring kmemleak for unreleased mlx5_st_idx_data structures or checking slab memory usage growth with commands like 'cat /proc/slabinfo' or 'dmesg | grep kmemleak'.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can lead to system resource exhaustion over time. As the kmalloc slab grows due to unreleased memory, it may cause performance degradation, increased memory usage, or eventual system instability if left unaddressed.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest Linux kernel patches that fix this issue. Reboot the system if necessary to ensure the patched kernel is active. Monitor memory usage and kmemleak reports after applying fixes.

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