CVE-2026-90109 json
net: sched: fix 32-bit backlog wrap in gred, bfifo and plug enqueue
published 2026-09-17 52 d ago modified 2026-10-30 9 d ago also EUVD-2026-81702
- cvss
- —
- not scored
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 13%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: sched: fix 32-bit backlog wrap in gred, bfifo and plug enqueue
gred_enqueue(), bfifo_enqueue() and plug_enqueue() admit a packet when the current backlog plus the packet length fits within the queue limit:
sch->qstats.backlog + qdisc_pkt_len(skb) <= sch->limit (gred default VQ) gred_backlog+qdisc_pkt_len(skb) <= q->limit (gred configured VQ) sch->qstats.backlog + qdisc_pkt_len(skb) <= sch->limit (bfifo) sch->qstats.backlog + skb->len <= q->limit (plug)
sch->qstats.backlog and q->backlog are u32, and qdisc_pkt_len()/skb->len are unsigned int, so all sums are computed in 32 bits and wrap at 2^32. Once the true backlog exceeds 4 GiB the wrapped sum becomes small and admission keeps succeeding, so the queue grows without bound and the kernel can be driven to OOM.
Promote the sums to u64 so admission stops once the true backlog exceeds the limit. The limit is u32, so the bounded queue stays below 2^32 and the stored u32 backlog never wraps.
The bug can only be reproduced as root (albeit with ridiculous setup): attach a gred (or bfifo/plug) qdisc with a limit near 4 GiB, leaving the default VQ unconfigured (for gred), and drive >4 GiB of queued traffic (e.g. via a size table / stab to inflate qdisc_pkt_len, or sustained high-rate traffic). The u32 backlog+len sum wraps at 2^32, admission keeps succeeding, and the queue grows unboundedly to OOM.
Patch / fix
- Linux Linux 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6, 7.3
- linux Debian 13 6.12.111-1
- linux Debian 14 7.2.6-1
- linux-6.12 Debian 12 6.12.111-1~deb12u1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90109
- linux Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-42.42
- linux-aws Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1016.17
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1016.18
- linux-ibm Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1017.17
- linux-riscv Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-42.42.1
- linux-oracle Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1015.16
- linux-hwe-7.0 Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1
- linux-oem-7.0 Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1017.17
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90109
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-source openSUSE Tumbleweed 7.2.7-1.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:11880-1
- kernel Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.161.1-1
azure linux advisories AZL-102656
Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/771a1123570b487765bcf2d4cff3567e66bf1322 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5ca77024812563fe15c4f7aa906791c3683e9fd commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fb51b3960342bbee563543f8d33710fd0fb5a96 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b2d8c70b969bf84f9e248bfaf2a7135129f2eb6 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d98b92f3d57976ae185238946ec5ea0be32195aa commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4c660ee8c809637909f4f7eb1017f7b9401c75c4 commit
Vendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2026-90109 updated cvss 5.5
kernel: net: sched: fix 32-bit backlog wrap in gred, bfifo and plug enqueue
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 moreaffected: no fix planned “Out of support scope”
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +83 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8, openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9 Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9affected: no fix available “Fix deferred”
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
Exploit prediction
0.23% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 13% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
Affected products
- Linux Linux
Classification
- Technology feeds
References
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/771a1123570b487765bcf2d4cff3567e66bf1322
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/c5ca77024812563fe15c4f7aa906791c3683e9fd
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/3fb51b3960342bbee563543f8d33710fd0fb5a96
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/8b2d8c70b969bf84f9e248bfaf2a7135129f2eb6
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/d98b92f3d57976ae185238946ec5ea0be32195aa
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/4c660ee8c809637909f4f7eb1017f7b9401c75c4
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-90109
- NVD CVE-2026-90109
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