---
id: CVE-2026-97616
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net/sched: act_api: release all action references on NEWACTION failure

  When a batched RTM_NEWACTION request replaces an existing action,
  tcf_idr_check_alloc() takes a …
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net/sched: act_api: release all action references on NEWACTION failure

  When a batched RTM_NEWACTION request replaces an existing action,
  tcf_idr_check_alloc() takes a …
severity: medium
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <
    f908c8a969946a45225fd7f9d9a85771e12ae0a8
  - >-
    Linux >= 55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <
    64b36eaef6ea5ada9aea4c2cf87099aaa8a4869b
  - >-
    Linux >= 55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <
    048617743febf6530111cfb594e9bbbd7918bf67
  - >-
    Linux >= 55334a5db5cd32b207ac697cec3ec8e078f345d4 <
    478eb5abb51931a152abab068f8a717b7ff480fd
  - Linux 3.15
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-09-25'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-25T11:17:15.780'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97616'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/048617743febf6530111cfb594e9bbbd7918bf67'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/478eb5abb51931a152abab068f8a717b7ff480fd'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64b36eaef6ea5ada9aea4c2cf87099aaa8a4869b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f908c8a969946a45225fd7f9d9a85771e12ae0a8'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97616.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97616'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541200'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97616'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97616'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97616.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1b5730a1c7def8993b3feba764008d1ff5c9dcea'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.897Z'
epss: 0.00206
epssPercentile: 0.10591
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-772
---

## Overview

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

net/sched: act_api: release all action references on NEWACTION failure

When a batched RTM_NEWACTION request replaces an existing action,
tcf_idr_check_alloc() takes a temporary reference on it. If a later
action fails to initialize, tcf_action_destroy() uses strict release
semantics to clean up the actions initialized so far. For an action
bound to a filter, the strict check returns -EPERM without dropping
the temporary reference.

This error also makes tcf_action_destroy() return before releasing
subsequent entries. Any new action initialized between the bound
action and the failing entry is leaked together with its reserved
IDR slot, preventing reuse of its index.

Use tcf_idr_release() to drop each reference held by the batch without
rejecting bound actions. This allows cleanup to continue through all
initialized entries and preserves the module reference release when
an action is destroyed. Explicit action deletion and flushing retain
their separate bind-count checks.

## 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 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 2026-09-29 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97616.json)