---
id: CVE-2026-53008
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup

  Fix a race condition between ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() and ice_tx_map()
  that can cause a NULL pointer dereference.…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup

  Fix a race condition between ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() and ice_tx_map()
  that can cause a NULL pointer dereference.…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-362
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.18, < 7.0.10'
patched:
  - linux_kernel 7.0.10
published: '2026-06-24'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T11:17:35.717'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53008'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/097409d20465723283632515df73038a4a853eda'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c72ec18c2a4111204c2e915f8e4f6d849ce9398'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e98cea6d5562f546482fab8ad571e95e3fff1800'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00109
epssPercentile: 0.01236
ingestedAt: '2026-07-11T17:13:40.324Z'
---

## Overview

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

ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup

Fix a race condition between ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() and ice_tx_map()
that can cause a NULL pointer dereference.

ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring currently clears the ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME flag
after NULLing the tstamp_ring. This could allow a concurrent ice_tx_map
call on another CPU to dereference the tstamp_ring, which could lead to
a NULL pointer dereference.

  CPU A:ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() | CPU B:ice_tx_map()
  --------------------------------|---------------------------------
  tx_ring->tstamp_ring = NULL     |
                                  | ice_is_txtime_cfg() -> true
                                  | tstamp_ring = tx_ring->tstamp_ring
                                  | tstamp_ring->count  // NULL deref!
  flags &= ~ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME   |

Fix by:
1. Reordering ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() to clear the flag before
   NULLing the pointer, with smp_wmb() to ensure proper ordering.
2. Adding smp_rmb() in ice_tx_map() after the flag check to order the
   flag read before the pointer read, using READ_ONCE() for the
   pointer, and adding a NULL check as a safety net.
3. Converting tx_ring->flags from u8 to DECLARE_BITMAP() and using
   atomic bitops (set_bit(), clear_bit(), test_bit()) for all flag
   operations throughout the driver:
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_XDP
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG1
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG2
   - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_TXTIME

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 6.18, < 7.0.10`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 7.0.10`