---
id: CVE-2026-53261
title: 'devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free'
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free

  devlink relation state is normally released from devl_unregister(), which
  calls devlink_rel_put(). This misses devlink…
severity: none
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 <
    a9137286884703113b1c9e6403bd6d7d97b14754
  - >-
    Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 <
    927f96861f939c0b517d13ed27bf4fabbfc1cfb3
  - >-
    Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 <
    11324d52b0c63f4f202b35793c6507a575e9a689
  - >-
    Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 <
    3522b21fd7e1863d0734537737bd59f1b90d0190
  - Linux 6.7
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-11-06T16:24:30.578515Z'
published: '2026-06-25'
updated: '2026-11-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-06T16:34:16.439Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53261'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a9137286884703113b1c9e6403bd6d7d97b14754'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/927f96861f939c0b517d13ed27bf4fabbfc1cfb3'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11324d52b0c63f4f202b35793c6507a575e9a689'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3522b21fd7e1863d0734537737bd59f1b90d0190'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00114
epssPercentile: 0.01467
ingestedAt: '2026-11-06T16:57:43.260Z'
---

## Overview

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

devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free

devlink relation state is normally released from devl_unregister(), which
calls devlink_rel_put(). This misses devlink instances that get a nested
relation before registration and then fail probe before devl_register() is
reached.

That flow can happen for SFs. The child devlink gets linked to its
parent before registration, then a later probe error calls devlink_free()
directly. Since the instance was never registered, devl_unregister() is not
called and devlink->rel is leaked.

Release any pending relation from devlink_free() as well. The registered
path is unchanged because devl_unregister() already clears devlink->rel
before devlink_free() runs.

## Affected

- `Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 < a9137286884703113b1c9e6403bd6d7d97b14754`
- `Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 < 927f96861f939c0b517d13ed27bf4fabbfc1cfb3`
- `Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 < 11324d52b0c63f4f202b35793c6507a575e9a689`
- `Linux >= c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8 < 3522b21fd7e1863d0734537737bd59f1b90d0190`
- `Linux 6.7`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.