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Response snapshot Oct 30, 2026, 17:01 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2024-26953

Linux kernel: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool When the skb is reorganized during esp_output (!esp->inline), the pages coming from the original skb fragments are supposed to be released back to the system through put_page.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.7% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2024-26953 (opens a new tab)

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool

When the skb is reorganized during esp_output (!esp->inline), the pages coming from the original skb fragments are supposed to be released back to the system through put_page. But if the skb fragment pages are originating from a page_pool, calling put_page on them will trigger a page_pool leak which will eventually result in a crash.

This leak can be easily observed when using CONFIG_DEBUG_VM and doing ipsec + gre (non offloaded) forwarding:

Continue reading

BUG: Bad page state in process ksoftirqd/16 pfn:1451b6 page:00000000de2b8d32 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x1451b6000 pfn:0x1451b6 flags: 0x200000000000000(node=0|zone=2) page_type: 0xffffffff() raw: 0200000000000000 dead000000000040 ffff88810d23c000 0000000000000000 raw: 00000001451b6000 0000000000000001 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: page_pool leak Modules linked in: ip_gre gre mlx5_ib mlx5_core xt_conntrack xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink iptable_nat nf_nat xt_addrtype br_netfilter rpcrdma rdma_ucm ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_iscsi ib_umad rdma_cm ib_ipoib iw_cm ib_cm ib_uverbs ib_core overlay zram zsmalloc fuse [last unloaded: mlx5_core] CPU: 16 PID: 96 Comm: ksoftirqd/16 Not tainted 6.

8.0-rc4+ #22 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x36/0x50 bad_page+0x70/0xf0 free_unref_page_prepare+0x27a/0x460 free_unref_page+0x38/0x120 esp_ssg_unref.isra.0+0x15f/0x200 esp_output_tail+0x66d/0x780 esp_xmit+0x2c5/0x360 validate_xmit_xfrm+0x313/0x370 ?

validate_xmit_skb+0x1d/0x330 validate_xmit_skb_list+0x4c/0x70 sch_direct_xmit+0x23e/0x350 __dev_queue_xmit+0x337/0xba0 ? nf_hook_slow+0x3f/0xd0 ip_finish_output2+0x25e/0x580 iptunnel_xmit+0x19b/0x240 ip_tunnel_xmit+0x5fb/0xb60 ipgre_xmit+0x14d/0x280 [ip_gre] dev_hard_start_xmit+0xc3/0x1c0 __dev_queue_xmit+0x208/0xba0 ?

nf_hook_slow+0x3f/0xd0 ip_finish_output2+0x1ca/0x580 ip_sublist_rcv_finish+0x32/0x40 ip_sublist_rcv+0x1b2/0x1f0 ? ip_rcv_finish_core.constprop.0+0x460/0x460 ip_list_rcv+0x103/0x130 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x181/0x1e0 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x1b3/0x2c0 napi_gro_receive+0xc8/0x200 gro_cell_poll+0x52/0x90 __napi_poll+0x25/0x1a0 net_rx_action+0x28e/0x300 __do_softirq+0xc3/0x276 ?

sort_range+0x20/0x20 run_ksoftirqd+0x1e/0x30 smpboot_thread_fn+0xa6/0x130 kthread+0xcd/0x100 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork+0x31/0x50 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK>

The suggested fix is to introduce a new wrapper (skb_page_unref) that covers page refcounting for page_pool pages as well.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

9.8

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.7%

Scored Percentile 51.6%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2024-26953 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2024-26953, scored 2026-10-30. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 30). Linux kernel: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool (CVE-2024-26953). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2024-26953

MLA

"Linux kernel: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool (CVE-2024-26953)." KEVWire, 30 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2024-26953.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool (CVE-2024-26953)." Last modified October 30, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2024-26953.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool (May 1, 2024).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: esp: fix bad handling of pages from page_pool

When the skb is reorganized during esp_output (!esp->inline), the pages
coming from the original skb fragments are supposed to be released back
to the system through put_page. But if the skb fragment pages are
originating from a page_pool, calling put_page on them will trigger a
page_pool leak which will eventually result in a crash.
CVSS 9.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 30, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26953).
EPSS 0.7% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 30, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2024-26953&date=2026-10-30).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2024-26953: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26953
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T13:06:45.042Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:50:57.069Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T12:22:16.957Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:05:57.373Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T11:45:59.009Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T13:20:57.281Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2024-26953&date=2026-10-30
Record ID: CVE-2024-26953.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 30, 2026, 14:52 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Modified. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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