Executive brief
A vulnerability was identified in the Linux kernel's batman-adv networking module, which is used for managing mobile ad-hoc networks. When a network interface is disabled, the system may continue to queue data packets that can no longer be processed, leading to a memory leak. Over time, this could degrade system performance or cause a crash due to exhausted memory resources.
Technical details
A race condition exists in the batman-adv module (specifically BATMAN_V) where batadv_v_ogm_send_meshif() can continue to queue socket buffers (skbs) via batadv_v_ogm_queue_on_if() even after an interface is disabled. Because batadv_v_ogm_iface_disable() frees the aggregation list and stops the worker thread, these newly queued skbs are never consumed or freed, resulting in a kernel memory leak. The fix introduces a boolean flag, aggr_list_enabled, protected by the aggregation list lock, to ensure no further packets are queued once the interface disablement process begins. The vulnerability affects systems using the B.A.T.M.A.N. V routing algorithm.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel f89255a02f1d to 3d4548c96d6f21ac1a9b06c5f82f3ef439c87023
Timeline
- 2026-06-26: patched: Initial patch authored by Sven Eckelmann
- 2026-07-19: disclosed: CVE published to NVD dataset
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d4548c96d6f21ac1a9b06c5f82f3ef439c87023
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86ab6b6fb5b82163bf6c45780bb72150021d7349
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97644fdaaf6446ffbe182c5eb804fceb5b1a51b7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d11c00b95b2a3b3934007fc003dccc6fdcc061ad
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3569327fc7395b2b0461a0a0cb77a0bb74786c0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d462ced79dd430200cf888984e8005da77fc810b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f04dde74399431fb07abbdd9cd5d0ed624771d04