Network-device teardown hang via leaked BPF reference
Published Jan 23, 2026 · Updated Jan 23, 2026
Resource leak in the BPF XDP test-run path in Linux Kernel allows local users to hang network-device teardown through crafted metadata. The bpf_prog_test_run_xdp() error path acquires a device reference in xdp_convert_md_to_buff() but returns without calling xdp_convert_buff_to_md() to release it. A local user who can invoke BPF_PROG_TEST_RUN can retain the reference, leave the device permanently busy, and block unregistration.
Summary
What happened
Resource leak in the BPF XDP test-run path in Linux Kernel allows local users to hang network-device teardown through crafted metadata. The bpf_prog_test_run_xdp() error path acquires a device reference in xdp_convert_md_to_buff() but returns without calling xdp_convert_buff_to_md() to release it. A local user who can invoke BPF_PROG_TEST_RUN can retain the reference, leave the device permanently busy, and block unregistration.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-22994
- Published
- Jan 23, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 23, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=1c194998252469cad00a08bd9ef0b99fd255c260 <368569bc546d3368ee9980ba79fc42fdff9a3365
- Affected versionversion=1c194998252469cad00a08bd9ef0b99fd255c260 <737be05a765761d7d7c9f7fe92274bd8e6f6951e
- Affected versionversion=1c194998252469cad00a08bd9ef0b99fd255c260 <98676ee71fd4eafeb8be63c7f3f1905d40e03101
- Affected versionversion=1c194998252469cad00a08bd9ef0b99fd255c260 <ec69daabe45256f98ac86c651b8ad1b2574489a7
- Affected versionversion=1c194998252469cad00a08bd9ef0b99fd255c260 <fb9ef40cccdbacce36029b305d0ef1e12e4fea38
- Affected versionversion=5.18
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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