CVE-2026-80613

Received Received - Intake

NAPI Leak in Linux Kernel veth Driver

Publication date: 2026-08-28

Last updated on: 2026-08-29

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: veth: fix NAPI leak in XDP enable error path During XDP enablement in veth, if xdp_rxq_info_reg() or xdp_rxq_info_reg_mem_model() fails, the driver rolls back the changes. However, the rollback loop: for (i--; i >= start; i--) { decrements the loop index 'i' before the first iteration. This correctly skips unregistering the rxq for the failed index 'i' (as registration failed or was already cleaned up), but it also erroneously skips calling netif_napi_deli() for rq[i].xdp_napi. Since netif_napi_add() was already called for index 'i', this leaves a dangling napi_struct in the device's napi_list. When the veth device is later destroyed, the freed queue memory (which contains the leaked NAPI structure) can be reused. The subsequent device teardown iterates the NAPI list and corrupts the reallocated memory, leading to UAF. Fix this by explicitly deleting the NAPI association for the failed index 'i' before rolling back the successfully configured queues.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-28

Last Modified

2026-08-29

Generated

2026-09-17

AI Q&A

2026-08-28

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-15

NVD

CVE-2026-80613

EUVD

EUVD-2026-67489

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This is a Linux kernel vulnerability where a NAPI (New API) structure is leaked during XDP enablement in the veth driver. If XDP setup fails for a queue, the rollback process skips cleaning up the NAPI structure for that queue, leaving a dangling pointer. When the device is destroyed later, this can cause memory corruption and use-after-free (UAF) issues.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's veth driver and may not have direct detection commands. Monitor kernel logs for XDP-related errors or NAPI-related warnings during veth device operations. Check for memory corruption issues during device teardown or XDP enablement failures.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could lead to system instability, crashes, or privilege escalation if exploited. It may allow attackers to corrupt kernel memory, potentially gaining unauthorized access or causing denial-of-service conditions on affected systems.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards. It is a memory corruption issue in the Linux kernel's veth driver that could lead to undefined behavior or crashes, but there is no evidence it involves data exposure or privacy violations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update to a patched Linux kernel version that includes the fix for this vulnerability. Avoid enabling XDP on veth devices until the patch is applied. Monitor kernel updates from your distribution for the corrected version.

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