Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-53261

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free devlink relation state is normally released from devl_unregister(), which calls devlink_rel_put(). This misses devlink instances that get a nested relation before registration and then fail probe before devl_register() is reached. That flow can happen for SFs. The child devlink gets linked to its parent before registration, then a later probe error calls devlink_free() directly. Since the instance was never registered, devl_unregister() is not called and devlink->rel is leaked. Release any pending relation from devlink_free() as well. The registered path is unchanged because devl_unregister() already clears devlink->rel before devlink_free() runs.

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (1.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 1st percentile — 1.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-53261: held from 0.002 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.001 · change: -0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8, 6.7, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 7.1

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53261?
CVE-2026-53261 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-06-25.
How severe is CVE-2026-53261?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.