CVE-2026-72032: net/mlx5: HWS, fix matcher leak on resize target setup failure

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-08-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: HWS, fix matcher leak on resize target setup failure hws_bwc_matcher_move() allocates a replacement matcher before setting it as the resize target. If mlx5hws_matcher_resize_set_target() fails, the replacement matcher is not attached anywhere and is leaked. Fix the leak by destroying the replacement matcher before returning from the resize-target failure path. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1.1. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a mlx5 HWS-capable device to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.12 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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