CVE-2026-23258

/// Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: liquidio: Initialize netdev pointer before queue setup

In setup_nic_devices(), the netdev is allocated using alloc_etherdev_mq().

However, the pointer to this structure is stored in oct->props[i].netdev

only after the calls to netif_set_real_num_rx_queues() and

netif_set_real_num_tx_queues().

If either of these functions fails, setup_nic_devices() returns an error

without freeing the allocated netdev. Since oct->props[i].netdev is still

NULL at this point, the cleanup function liquidio_destroy_nic_device()

will fail to find and free the netdev, resulting in a memory leak.

Fix this by initializing oct->props[i].netdev before calling the queue

setup functions. This ensures that the netdev is properly accessible for

cleanup in case of errors.

Compile tested only. Issue found using a prototype static analysis tool

and code review.

/// Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

/// References