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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-97997

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit i

Published Sep 25, 2026 · catalog updated Oct 16, 2026 · In the Linux kernel,

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-97997. EPSS is 0.17%. Act only if a listed version of In the Linux kernel, is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • The stored product name is a package slug. The name on this page is taken from the title (In the Linux kernel,).
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
Unknown—
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.17%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
Debian:12 linux · Debian:13 linux · Debian:14 linux

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit in the descriptor itself, so writing them makes that descriptor available. Those bit combinations flip meaning on every round of the ring, tracked by a wrap counter, so invalidating or validating a descriptor means inverting both bits. Commit 1ce9e6055fa0 ("virtio_ring: introduce packed ring support") has virtqueue_add_packed() make every descriptor of a chain available as it maps the chain, and write the head last. The device consumes the ring in order and stops at a head that is not available yet, so it never reaches the rest. When vring_map_one_sg() fails partway, unmap_release unmaps the segments and restores avail_used_flags, but the descriptors it wrote to in the ring stay marked with AVAIL and USED bits. The head is now the only entry that keeps the device from consuming these stale entries. For example, the ring would look like this now. Z - pre-previous command A - previous command B - aborted command C - current command [A1 DONE] [A2 DONE] [B2] [B3] [Z1 DONE] When the driver now attempts to issue the C command, the next add starts at the same head as B. If C spans less descriptors than B, there is no end marker because AVAIL and USED bits were still in place. And that means the device will start interpreting these stale entries (B2/B3) as another command entry, which then blocks the queue. This effect typically happens in swiotlb configurations under memory pressure, because vring_map_one_sg() can then fail with larger I/O requests which then leads to command abortions. There are broadly 2 ways to avoid leaving those flags behind: 1) Defer those flags too until the chain is complete. 2) Rewrite those flags for the previous wrap counter. Implement the second option in both packed add paths. The first option traverses the chain a second time on every successful add. The second optio

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • Debian:12 linux6.1.106-1, 6.1.106-2, 6.1.106-3
  • Debian:13 linux6.12.100-1, 6.12.101-1, 6.12.105-1
  • Debian:14 linux0 → 7.2.7-1

How to fix CVE-2026-97997

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-97997. EPSS is 0.17%. Act only if a listed version of In the Linux kernel, is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with 6.1.106-1, 6.1.106-2, 6.1.106-3, 6.12.100-1, 6.12.101-1, 6.12.105-1, 0 → 7.2.7-1. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

No weakness class is stored. EPSS 0.17%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

Debian security

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Sep 25, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit in the descriptor itself, so writing them makes that descriptor available. Those bit combinations flip meaning on every round of the ring, tracked by a wrap counter, so invalidating or validating a descriptor means invert

  2. Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit in the descriptor itself, so writing them makes that descriptor available. Those bit combinations flip meaning on every round of the ring, tracked by a wrap counter, so invalidating or validating a descriptor means invert

  3. Oct 16, 2026 · OpenSSF OSV / OSV Scanner

    Fix available

    linux fixed in 7.2.7-1

  4. Oct 16, 2026 · OpenSSF OSV / OSV Scanner

    Fix available

    linux fixed in 7.2.7-1

  5. Oct 16, 2026 · OpenSSF OSV / OSV Scanner

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit in the descriptor itself, so writing them makes that descriptor available. Those bit combinations flip meaning on every round of the ring, tracked by a wrap counter, so invalidating or validating a descriptor means invert

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-97997

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-97997

    30-day exploitation probability 0.2%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-97997

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: fix stale descriptor flags after a failed packed add In a packed ring the AVAIL and USED bits sit in the descriptor itself, so writing them makes that descriptor available. Those bit combinations f

    nvd.nist.gov
  • OpenSSF OSV / OSV ScannerPackage advisoryDEBIAN-CVE-2026-97997
    osv.dev

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.