CVE-2026-74622
Received Received - Intake

Memory Leak in Linux Kernel Atlantic NIC Driver

Publication date: 2026-08-22

Last updated on: 2026-08-22

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: atlantic: free RX pages of consumed but not refilled buffers aq_ring_rx_deinit() only walks [sw_head, sw_tail), the region posted to hardware. Since the page reuse strategy was added, a cleaned RX buffer keeps its page (and its DMA mapping) in the ring for reuse, and refill is batched: aq_ring_rx_fill() returns early until AQ_CFG_RX_REFILL_THRES slots are free. Slots that were consumed but not yet reposted therefore sit in the complementary [sw_tail, sw_head) gap with a live page, and the deinit walk never visits them: up to a refill batch worth of pages and DMA mappings leak on every interface down. Walk the whole ring instead and release whatever is still there. Also bail out if the buffer ring is already gone: a partial aq_ptp_ring_alloc() failure frees the ring but leaves aq_nic set, so aq_ptp_ring_deinit() still gets here on the unwind path.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-22
Last Modified
2026-08-22
Generated
2026-08-22
AI Q&A
2026-08-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-74622
EUVD
EUVD-2026-64559

Affected Vendors & Products

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

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a memory leak in the Atlantic NIC driver. When an interface is brought down, the cleanup function fails to free RX buffer pages that were consumed but not yet refilled. These pages and their DMA mappings remain allocated, causing a leak of up to a refill batch worth of resources per interface down event.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's Atlantic NIC driver and may not have direct detection commands. Monitor kernel logs for errors related to the Atlantic driver or RX buffer issues during interface down events.

Impact Analysis

The impact includes resource exhaustion on systems using the Atlantic NIC driver. Memory and DMA mappings may leak over time, potentially leading to performance degradation, system instability, or crashes due to running out of available memory or DMA-capable resources.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to a patched version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Check your distribution's security advisories for kernel updates addressing CVE-2026-74622.

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