---
id: CVE-2026-97477
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  RDMA/counter: Fix num_counters leak on bind_qp failure in alloc_and_bind()

  When __rdma_counter_bind_qp() fails in alloc_and_bind(), the error path
  jumps to err_mode wh…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  RDMA/counter: Fix num_counters leak on bind_qp failure in alloc_and_bind()

  When __rdma_counter_bind_qp() fails in alloc_and_bind(), the error path
  jumps to err_mode wh…
severity: medium
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    da95cb016812c0e012ea839f191926e35ca8f57f
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    4fbc8230009f5b1bcd13cc74c5a6a43ddba141fd
  - Linux < 6.18.53
  - Linux (all versions)
published: '2026-09-24'
updated: '2026-09-28'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-28T06:16:33.607'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97477'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4fbc8230009f5b1bcd13cc74c5a6a43ddba141fd'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da95cb016812c0e012ea839f191926e35ca8f57f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97477.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97477'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2540531'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97477'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97477'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97477.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9fee40fc8d8d928f44e99bc6e6adf93f9f2c2a'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1bcdeddddffadff9993657f6b0e5535d66ebd10f'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00174
epssPercentile: 0.06842
ingestedAt: '2026-09-24T16:47:15.872Z'
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe:
  - CWE-911
---

## Overview

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

RDMA/counter: Fix num_counters leak on bind_qp failure in alloc_and_bind()

When __rdma_counter_bind_qp() fails in alloc_and_bind(), the error path
jumps to err_mode which frees the counter without decrementing
port_counter->num_counters. The only place that decrements is
rdma_counter_free(), which is unreachable since the counter was never
successfully bound.

This leak accumulates across repeated failures, permanently preventing
the port from switching to AUTO mode (-EBUSY in __counter_set_mode())
and blocking the MANUAL→NONE auto-revert in rdma_counter_free(). When
the mode was NONE before the call, the MANUAL mode set by
__counter_set_mode() also leaks since the revert logic is never
reached.

Add an err_bind label between the num_counters increment and the
existing err_mode label. It decrements num_counters and mirrors the
MANUAL→NONE revert from rdma_counter_free(), ensuring the port state
is fully restored on bind failure.

## Remediation

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

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97477.json)