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

net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup()

When the interface has NETIF_F_SG enabled and skb_linearize() fails in
ax88179_tx_fixup(), the function returns NULL without freeing the skb.

usbnet_start_xmit() treats a NULL return from tx_fixup() as a drop
(info->flags does not set FLAG_MULTI_PACKET for this driver), jumping
to the "drop" label where it does `if (skb) dev_kfree_skb_any(skb)`.
Because tx_fixup() returned NULL, the local skb variable in
usbnet_start_xmit() is NULL, so the original skb is never freed — a
memory leak on every TX frame whose linearization fails (i.e. under
memory pressure).

Free the skb before returning, matching the error handling already used
for the pskb_expand_head() failure path in the same function.

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Sat, 22 Aug 2026 15:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup() When the interface has NETIF_F_SG enabled and skb_linearize() fails in ax88179_tx_fixup(), the function returns NULL without freeing the skb. usbnet_start_xmit() treats a NULL return from tx_fixup() as a drop (info->flags does not set FLAG_MULTI_PACKET for this driver), jumping to the "drop" label where it does `if (skb) dev_kfree_skb_any(skb)`. Because tx_fixup() returned NULL, the local skb variable in usbnet_start_xmit() is NULL, so the original skb is never freed — a memory leak on every TX frame whose linearization fails (i.e. under memory pressure). Free the skb before returning, matching the error handling already used for the pskb_expand_head() failure path in the same function.
Title net: usb: ax88179_178a: fix skb leak in ax88179_tx_fixup()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-22T15:32:46.765Z

Reserved: 2026-08-15T05:44:03.925Z

Link: CVE-2026-74678

cve-icon Vulnrichment

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cve-icon NVD

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cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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