CVE-2026-97616Hinoki check available

Resource exhaustion via incomplete action-batch cleanup

Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026

Resource leakage in Linux traffic-control action handling allows attackers to exhaust action identifiers via failed RTM_NEWACTION batches. On a later initialization failure, tcf_action_destroy() returns at a bound action without dropping its temporary reference, then skips later entries and their reserved IDR slots. Reaching the faulty cleanup path requires traffic-control administration and a replacement batch containing a bound action, a newly initialized action, and a later failing action.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Resource leakage in Linux traffic-control action handling allows attackers to exhaust action identifiers via failed RTM_NEWACTION batches. On a later initialization failure, tcf_action_destroy() returns at a bound action without dropping its temporary reference, then skips later entries and their reserved IDR slots. Reaching the faulty cleanup path requires traffic-control administration and a replacement batch containing a bound action, a newly initialized action, and a later failing action.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97616
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Updated
Sep 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 25, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.15
  2. Affected versionversion=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <048617743febf6530111cfb594e9bbbd7918bf67
  3. Affected versionversion=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <478eb5abb51931a152abab068f8a717b7ff480fd
  4. Affected versionversion=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <64b36eaef6ea5ada9aea4c2cf87099aaa8a4869b
  5. Affected versionversion=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <f908c8a969946a45225fd7f9d9a85771e12ae0a8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.15; version=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <048617743febf6530111cfb594e9bbbd7918bf67; version=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <478eb5abb51931a152abab068f8a717b7ff480fd; version=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <64b36eaef6ea5ada9aea4c2cf87099aaa8a4869b; version=55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <f908c8a969946a45225fd7f9d9a85771e12ae0a8

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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