CVE-2026-46102: net: strparser: fix skb_head leak in strp_abort_strp()

Synopsis

A memory leak vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's stream parser (strparser) subsystem, reachable over the network without any authentication. When the stream parser aborts mid-assembly, for example after a message assembly timeout, it fails to free a partially assembled socket buffer (skb), leaving that memory permanently unreclaimable. An attacker can trigger this leak repeatedly over the network to exhaust kernel memory and crash the affected host. A patched-image rebuild at the fix versions is available on HarborGuard for affected environments.

HarborGuard Coverage

Exploit Conditions

• Network reachabilityRequired

  The attacker must be able to reach the service over the network; the vulnerability is exposed via network-facing sockets that use the kernel stream parser.

• AuthenticationNot required

  No authentication is needed; the attacker can trigger the memory leak by sending crafted network traffic to an exposed socket without holding any account or credential.

• Victim interactionNot required

  No victim interaction is required; the attacker drives the exploit entirely through their own network-side connection attempts.

• Attack complexityDetail

  Attack complexity is low; the exploit is reliable and requires no special conditions, race wins, or knowledge of memory layout.

Blast Radius

• Repeated triggering exhausts kernel memory, causing the host operating system to crash or become unresponsive (full denial of service).
• All workloads running on the affected host, not just the targeted service, are disrupted when kernel memory is exhausted.
• No confidential data is read and no data is modified; the impact is limited entirely to availability.