Linux Kernel up to 6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6 vsock virtio_vsock_alloc_linear_skb uninitialized pointer

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6. This issue affects the function virtio_vsock_alloc_linear_skb of the component vsock. Such manipulation leads to uninitialized pointer. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-23057. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function virtio_vsock_alloc_linear_skb of the component vsock. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a uninitialized pointer vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-824. The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. The impact remains unknown. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock/virtio: Coalesce only linear skb vsock/virtio common tries to coalesce buffers in rx queue: if a linear skb (with a spare tail room) is followed by a small skb (length limited by GOOD_COPY_LEN = 128), an attempt is made to join them. Since the introduction of MSG_ZEROCOPY support, assumption that a small skb will always be linear is incorrect. In the zerocopy case, data is lost and the linear skb is appended with uninitialized kernel memory. Of all 3 supported virtio-based transports, only loopback-transport is affected. G2H virtio-transport rx queue operates on explicitly linear skbs; see virtio_vsock_alloc_linear_skb() in virtio_vsock_rx_fill(). H2G vhost-transport may allocate non-linear skbs, but only for sizes that are not considered for coalescence; see PAGE_ALLOC_COSTLY_ORDER in virtio_vsock_alloc_skb(). Ensure only linear skbs are coalesced. Note that skb_tailroom(last_skb) > 0 guarantees last_skb is linear.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-23057 since 01/13/2026. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 04/30/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 297868 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-23057), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.68, 6.18.8 or 6.19-rc7 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 568e9cd8ed7ca9bf748c7687ba6501f29d30e59f/63ef9b300bd09e24c57050c5dbe68feedce42e72/0386bd321d0f95d041a7b3d7b07643411b044a96 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (297868) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0324). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.19-rc1
• 6.19-rc2
• 6.19-rc3
• 6.19-rc4
• 6.19-rc5
• 6.19-rc6

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

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