CVE-2026-63872

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: esp: fix page frag reference leak on skb_to_sgvec failure In esp_output_tail(), when esp->inplace is false, the old skb page frags are replaced with a new page from the xfrm page_frag cache. The source scatterlist (sg) is built from the old frags before the replacement, and esp_ssg_unref() is responsible for releasing the old page references after the crypto operation completes. However, if the second skb_to_sgvec() call (which builds the destination scatterlist from the new page) fails, the code jumps to error_free which only calls kfree(tmp). The old page frag references captured in the source scatterlist are never released: 1. sg[] is built from old frags via skb_to_sgvec() (no extra get_page) 2. nr_frags is set to 1 and frag[0] is replaced with the new page 3. Second skb_to_sgvec() fails -> goto error_free 4. kfree(tmp) frees the sg[] memory but old frags are not unref'd 5. kfree_skb() only releases frag[0] (the new page), not the old ones Fix this by adding a bool parameter to esp_ssg_unref() that, when true, unconditionally unrefs the source scatterlist frags without checking req->src and req->dst, since those fields are not yet initialized by aead_request_set_crypt() at the point of the error. Existing callers pass false to preserve the original behavior. The same issue exists in both esp4 and esp6 as the code is identical.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-07-19
Last modified 2026-07-27
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.5

out of 10
High
Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.11 and later are affected. Fixed in 7.0.13, 7.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.11
Fixed in
✓ 7.0.13 7.0.x ✓ 7.1

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-63872?

    CVE-2026-63872 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.11 onward and has been patched in 7.0.13 and 7.1. CVE-2026-63872 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-63872?

    CVE-2026-63872 has a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-63872?

    Yes. CVE-2026-63872 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.0.13 and 7.1. If you are running Linux kernel 4.11 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-63872 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-63872 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.