Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-23261

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-fc: release admin tagset if init fails nvme_fabrics creates an NVMe/FC controller in following path: nvmf_dev_write() -> nvmf_create_ctrl() -> nvme_fc_create_ctrl() -> nvme_fc_init_ctrl() nvme_fc_init_ctrl() allocates the admin blk-mq resources right after nvme_add_ctrl() succeeds. If any of the subsequent steps fail (changing the controller state, scheduling connect work, etc.), we jump to the fail_ctrl path, which tears down the controller references but never frees the admin queue/tag set. The leaked blk-mq allocations match the kmemleak report seen during blktests nvme/fc. Check ctrl->ctrl.admin_tagset in the fail_ctrl path and call nvme_remove_admin_tag_set() when it is set so that all admin queue allocations are reclaimed whenever controller setup aborts.

EPSS: 0.001 (1.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 6.19, 5fe335a80548e2eda5d51fab801108b323600e95, 6.6.118
  • Linux Linux_kernel — versions 6.18, 6.19

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23261?
CVE-2026-23261 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-03-18.
How severe is CVE-2026-23261?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.