CVE-2026-23386: linux kernel vulnerability
CVE-2026-23386: medium vulnerability affecting linux kernel. Check CVSS, KEV status, business impact and recommended administrator actions.
- CVSS
- 5.5 MEDIUM
- EPSS
- 2.19%
- Known exploited
- not in KEV
- Product
- linux kernel
What is known
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: fix incorrect buffer cleanup in gve_tx_clean_pending_packets for QPL In DQ-QPL mode, gve_tx_clean_pending_packets() incorrectly uses the RDA buffer cleanup path. It iterates num_bufs times and attempts to unmap entries in the dma array. This leads to two issues: 1. The dma array shares storage with tx_qpl_buf_ids (union). Interpreting buffer IDs as DMA addresses results in attempting to unmap incorrect memory locations. 2. num_bufs in QPL mode (counting 2K chunks) can significantly exceed the size of the dma array, causing out-of-bounds access warnings (trace below is how we noticed this issue). UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in drivers/net/ethernet/drivers/net/ethernet/google/gve/gve_tx_dqo.c:178:5 index 18 is out of range for type 'dma_addr_t[18]' (aka 'unsigned long long[18]') Workqueue: gve gve_service_task [gve] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x33/0xa0 __ubsan_handle_out_of_bounds+0xdc/0x110 gve_tx_stop_ring_dqo+0x182/0x200 [gve] gve_close+0x1be/0x450 [gve] gve_reset+0x99/0x120 [gve] gve_service_task+0x61/0x100 [gve] process_scheduled_works+0x1e9/0x380 Fix this by properly checking for QPL mode and delegating to gve_free_tx_qpl_bufs() to reclaim the buffers.
Business impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-23386, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.
Recommended administrator action
Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.