Vulnary
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Critical· 9.8official fix available

CVE-2024-26953

A critical vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ESP handling causes memory leaks when processing certain network packets, leading to system crashes. The issue occurs when skb fragments from a page_pool are improperly released, triggering a page_pool leak.

publishedMay 1, 2024
last modifiedAug 4, 2026
sourcesNVD
severity · cvss
9.8
critical · how bad it is
exploitation · epss
<1%
48th percentile · chance of exploitation in 30 days
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →
auto-deletes from the system
counting…on Sep 4, 2026

An official fix is available, so this entry is kept for 30 days and then removed automatically.

01

Who is affected

Linux kernel users

02

Real-world impact

Can cause system crashes under specific conditions (e.g., IPsec + GRE forwarding with CONFIG_DEBUG_VM enabled)

03

Why this severity

Critical (CVSS 9.8) - High risk of denial of service or system instability

04

What to do about it

official fix available
recommended steps
  1. 01Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the skb_page_unref wrapper fix (as implemented in the kernel's resolution).
  2. 02Apply the official kernel patch or update from the distribution's repository.

NVD description of kernel vulnerability resolution

05

Timeline

  1. May 1, 2024 · May 1, 2024
    Published
    Disclosed and added to the National Vulnerability Database.
  2. Aug 4, 2026 · 2d ago
    Advisory updated
    The NVD record was last revised.
  3. Aug 5, 2026 · 1d ago
    Official fix available
    A vendor patch or mitigation now exists — see the remediation steps above.
06

How it’s attacked

Attack vectorNetwork (remote)
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredNone
User interactionNone needed
ScopeUnchanged
Confidentiality impactHigh
Integrity impactHigh
Availability impactHigh
07

References & advisories

NVD advisory ↗Search advisories ↗
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →