High 7.5Published Aug 22, 2026

CVE-2026-74678net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup()

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 27, 2026, 8:30 PM ET)

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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.

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Exploited in the last 30 days

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup() When the interface has NETIF_F_SG enabled and skb_linearize() fails in ax88179_tx_fixup(), the function returns NULL without freeing the skb. usbnet_start_xmit() treats a NULL return from tx_fixup() as a drop (info->flags does not set FLAG_MULTI_PACKET for this driver), jumping to the "drop" label where it does `if (skb) dev_kfree_skb_any(skb)`. Because tx_fixup() returned NULL, the local skb variable in usbnet_start_xmit() is NULL, so the original skb is never freed — a memory leak on every TX frame whose linearization fails (i.e. under memory pressure). Free the skb before returning, matching the error handling already used for the pskb_expand_head() failure path in the same function.

CVSS: 7.5 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE): Not given
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: Linux
NVD analysis: Received
Record last updated: Oct 16, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name)	from 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 before 83a765cbd7b4d11b0b9fa1bb9d941ae911a2159b; 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 builds before 1c63303659a2264bd55d9813df74cb4caeed5922; 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 builds before 2be5091fa693b9119ad25a8bb8c149d236a23ade; from 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 before 58733b1dd46bb231d9d279c132a20ee46da1b664; from 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 before 4039cd807a5a46dc5f7618fffae926b8ad8455eb; 16b1c4e01c89ba07367461e0bc4cb84993c2d027 builds before 1f428e30947395d9b9aacee03e25a4e6cfcad7a4	CNA record

References

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83a765cbd7b4d11b0b9fa1bb9d941ae911a2159b
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c63303659a2264bd55d9813df74cb4caeed5922
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2be5091fa693b9119ad25a8bb8c149d236a23ade
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58733b1dd46bb231d9d279c132a20ee46da1b664
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4039cd807a5a46dc5f7618fffae926b8ad8455eb
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f428e30947395d9b9aacee03e25a4e6cfcad7a4

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.