esp: do not unref managed frag pages in esp_ssg_unref()
esp_ssg_unref() releases the page references held on the source
scatterlist after the AEAD operation completes. It calls
skb_page_unref() on every frag page for an out-of-place transform
(req->src != req->dst), and in the error path of esp_output_tail()
(already_unref == true) on the request's own scatterlist.
This is wrong when the skb carries managed frags
(SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS). Managed frags are owned by a zerocopy ubuf
and the skb does not hold a per-frag page reference; io_uring SEND_ZC
with a registered buffer attaches the bvec pages this way via
io_sg_from_iter(). The rest of the stack honours this invariant:
skb_release_data() skips the per-frag unref when SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS
is set, and skb_zcopy_managed() is the guard used at the other unref
sites.
esp_ssg_unref() is missing that guard, so for a managed-frag skb it
drops a page reference the skb never acquired. This can underflow the
page reference count and free a page that is still in use.
Guard the function with skb_zcopy_managed() so both unref paths are
skipped for managed-frag skbs, matching skb_release_data().
Analysis
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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No data available yet.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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Thu, 17 Sep 2026 16:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: esp: do not unref managed frag pages in esp_ssg_unref() esp_ssg_unref() releases the page references held on the source scatterlist after the AEAD operation completes. It calls skb_page_unref() on every frag page for an out-of-place transform (req->src != req->dst), and in the error path of esp_output_tail() (already_unref == true) on the request's own scatterlist. This is wrong when the skb carries managed frags (SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS). Managed frags are owned by a zerocopy ubuf and the skb does not hold a per-frag page reference; io_uring SEND_ZC with a registered buffer attaches the bvec pages this way via io_sg_from_iter(). The rest of the stack honours this invariant: skb_release_data() skips the per-frag unref when SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS is set, and skb_zcopy_managed() is the guard used at the other unref sites. esp_ssg_unref() is missing that guard, so for a managed-frag skb it drops a page reference the skb never acquired. This can underflow the page reference count and free a page that is still in use. Guard the function with skb_zcopy_managed() so both unref paths are skipped for managed-frag skbs, matching skb_release_data(). | |
| Title | esp: do not unref managed frag pages in esp_ssg_unref() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-17T16:11:16.442Z
Reserved: 2026-09-17T16:02:15.085Z
Link: CVE-2026-93105
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-17T17:18:04.847
Modified: 2026-09-17T17:18:04.847
Link: CVE-2026-93105
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
No weakness.