CVE-2026-53009 | ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix double-free of tx_buf skb If ice_tso() or ice_tx_csum() fail, the error path in ice_xmit_frame_ring() frees the skb, but the 'first' tx_buf still points to it and is marked as valid (ICE_TX_BUF_SKB). 'next_to_use' remains unchanged, so the potential problem will likely fix itself when the next packet is transmitted and the tx_buf gets overwritten. But if there is no next packet and the interface is brought down instead, ice_clean_tx_ring() -> ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf() will find the tx_buf and free the skb for the second time. The fix is to reset the tx_buf type to ICE_TX_BUF_EMPTY in the error path, so that ice_unmap_and_free_tx_buf(). Move the initialization of 'first' up, to ensure it's already valid in case we hit the linearization error path. The bug was spotted by AI while I had it looking for something else. It also proposed an initial version of the patch. I reproduced the bug and tested the fix by adding code to inject failures, on a build with KASAN. I looked for similar bugs in related Intel drivers and did not find any.

Published: 2026-06-24 Last update: 2026-07-10 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Awaiting Analysis，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-53009 is rated Low Risk (31.9/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-53009

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-28 0.15% 0.12% -0.04%
2 2026-06-25 — 0.15% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-53009

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
7.0 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.0 5.9 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-53009

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-53009

GHSA-67p5-53x6-9j7q · Severity: high — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix double-free of...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-53009

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-53009 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 3, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-53009
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53009
suse medium CVE-2026-53009 severity moderate: SUSE including 7 source package names (kernel-default, kernel-default-base, …), 13 product×package rows across 3 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Teradata 12 SP3): Known Not Affected 13. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-53009/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-53009 medium priority: Ubuntu including 162 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1458 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1051, ignored 172, needed 113, released 88, not-affected 23, pending 11. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-53009

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-53009

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 4.17, < 7.0.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.17, < 7.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-53009

cvelogic Threat Intelligence