CVE-2026-90109 PUBLISHED

net: sched: fix 32-bit backlog wrap in gred, bfifo and plug enqueue

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 11.09.2026 Published: 17.09.2026 Updated: 17.09.2026

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.

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from a3eb95f891d6130b1fc03dd07a8b54cf0a5c8ab8 to 3fb51b3960342bbee563543f8d33710fd0fb5a96 (excl.)
  • affected from a3eb95f891d6130b1fc03dd07a8b54cf0a5c8ab8 to 8b2d8c70b969bf84f9e248bfaf2a7135129f2eb6 (excl.)
  • affected from a3eb95f891d6130b1fc03dd07a8b54cf0a5c8ab8 to d98b92f3d57976ae185238946ec5ea0be32195aa (excl.)
  • affected from a3eb95f891d6130b1fc03dd07a8b54cf0a5c8ab8 to 4c660ee8c809637909f4f7eb1017f7b9401c75c4 (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 4.2 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 4.2 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 6.12.110 to 6.12.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.52 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.2.6 to 7.2.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.3-rc1 to * (incl.)

References