---
id: CVE-2026-97537
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  scsi: qla2xxx: Fix queue teardown NULL dma_free and bitmap locking

  qla25xx_free_req_que() and qla25xx_free_rsp_que() have two pre-existing
  bugs exposed on the error pa…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  scsi: qla2xxx: Fix queue teardown NULL dma_free and bitmap locking

  qla25xx_free_req_que() and qla25xx_free_rsp_que() have two pre-existing
  bugs exposed on the error pa…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 73208dfd7ab19f379d73e8a0fbf30f92c203e5e8 <
    56e25d716833604fd5bff388e472f290bfe793aa
  - >-
    Linux >= 73208dfd7ab19f379d73e8a0fbf30f92c203e5e8 <
    f35cb67f2092b49d7949065dd56895ed47238f22
  - >-
    Linux >= 73208dfd7ab19f379d73e8a0fbf30f92c203e5e8 <
    94fc0c5b45de2bf3a691619bcfd10b9a49fc647e
  - >-
    Linux >= 73208dfd7ab19f379d73e8a0fbf30f92c203e5e8 <
    34a40e0dff940ac5eba494a69b553ea571e24873
  - Linux 2.6.29
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-10-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-03T11:18:02.517'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97537'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34a40e0dff940ac5eba494a69b553ea571e24873'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56e25d716833604fd5bff388e472f290bfe793aa'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94fc0c5b45de2bf3a691619bcfd10b9a49fc647e'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f35cb67f2092b49d7949065dd56895ed47238f22'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97537.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97537'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541238'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97537'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97537'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97537.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2e6f60adf609c77e828f64e0cd371920bef91c12'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00206
epssPercentile: 0.10587
cvssSource: vendor
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.922Z'
---

## Overview

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

scsi: qla2xxx: Fix queue teardown NULL dma_free and bitmap locking

qla25xx_free_req_que() and qla25xx_free_rsp_que() have two pre-existing
bugs exposed on the error path of qla25xx_create_{req,rsp}_que():

 1. When dma_alloc_coherent() fails during queue creation, the error
    path calls the free function with req->ring / rsp->ring still NULL
    (from kzalloc).  The unconditional dma_free_coherent() with a NULL
    cpu_addr is undefined behavior and can panic.

 2. The free functions clear req_qid_map / rsp_qid_map under vport_lock,
    but the create functions protect the same bitmaps with mq_lock.
    This provides no mutual exclusion.  Additionally, the create error
    path clears the bit and releases mq_lock before calling the free
    function, creating a window where another thread can allocate the
    same que_id and have its ha->req_q_map entry clobbered by the
    subsequent lockless NULL assignment in the free function.

Fix by:

 - Guarding dma_free_coherent() with a NULL check on the ring pointer.

 - Using mq_lock (the lock held by all creators) in the free functions
   to atomically NULL the map entry and clear the bitmap bit.

 - Removing the now-redundant clear_bit blocks from the create error
   paths since the free functions handle it atomically.

## Remediation

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

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, … · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97537.json)