CVE-2026-23261: nvme-fc: release admin tagset if init fails

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-03-18 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-fc: release admin tagset if init fails nvme_fabrics creates an NVMe/FC controller in following path: nvmf_dev_write() -> nvmf_create_ctrl() -> nvme_fc_create_ctrl() -> nvme_fc_init_ctrl() nvme_fc_init_ctrl() allocates the admin blk-mq resources right after nvme_add_ctrl() succeeds. If any of the subsequent steps fail (changing the controller state, scheduling connect work, etc.), we jump to the fail_ctrl path, which tears down the controller references but never frees the admin queue/tag set. The leaked blk-mq allocations match the kmemleak report seen during blktests nvme/fc. Check ctrl->ctrl.admin_tagset in the fail_ctrl path and call nvme_remove_admin_tag_set() when it is set so that all admin queue allocations are reclaimed whenever controller setup aborts.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.6.118 before 6.6.124; from 6.12.60 before 6.12.70; from 6.17.10 before 6.18; from 6.18.1 before 6.18.10; 6.18, 6.18-rc7, 6.19-rc1, 6.19-rc2, 6.19-rc3, 6.19-rc4 (+3) — fixed in 6.12.70, 6.18, 6.18.10, 6.6.124

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.12.70, 6.18, 6.18.10, 6.6.124. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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