---
id: CVE-2026-97979
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ice: add missing xa_destroy for sched_node_ids

  Commit 16dfa49406bc ("ice: Introduce new parameters in ice_sched_node")
  added a sched_node_ids xarray to the port info s…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  ice: add missing xa_destroy for sched_node_ids

  Commit 16dfa49406bc ("ice: Introduce new parameters in ice_sched_node")
  added a sched_node_ids xarray to the port info s…
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-772
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= a388961be5ed8ee037ac68220e389bc4e9339a39 <
    09a7cdf8fffb065a8aa30cfa604ff4a65cbf04c9
  - >-
    Linux >= 16dfa49406bc5e1f4cbb115027cbd719d7e6c930 <
    c075a91fe5762d314e6e182d37d29cf874bd314a
  - >-
    Linux >= 16dfa49406bc5e1f4cbb115027cbd719d7e6c930 <
    44cdd6b7e036303f7fecf841cf23c05a4a4faf2d
  - >-
    Linux >= 16dfa49406bc5e1f4cbb115027cbd719d7e6c930 <
    f5463bc124c0d6f922e272336584730c5c61c4f1
  - >-
    Linux >= 16dfa49406bc5e1f4cbb115027cbd719d7e6c930 <
    d6f38fb12069fb1edf762962b5fcf3f42d643b47
  - >-
    Linux >= 16dfa49406bc5e1f4cbb115027cbd719d7e6c930 <
    53432c4c3e869076350aef319534431af8ba99c1
  - Linux >= 6.1.95 < 6.1.189
  - Linux 6.2
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-10-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-03T11:18:22.030'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97979'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09a7cdf8fffb065a8aa30cfa604ff4a65cbf04c9'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44cdd6b7e036303f7fecf841cf23c05a4a4faf2d'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/53432c4c3e869076350aef319534431af8ba99c1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c075a91fe5762d314e6e182d37d29cf874bd314a'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d6f38fb12069fb1edf762962b5fcf3f42d643b47'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5463bc124c0d6f922e272336584730c5c61c4f1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97979.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97979'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541020'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97979'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97979'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97979.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00173
epssPercentile: 0.06626
cvssSource: vendor
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.869Z'
---

## Overview

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

ice: add missing xa_destroy for sched_node_ids

Commit 16dfa49406bc ("ice: Introduce new parameters in ice_sched_node")
added a sched_node_ids xarray to the port info structure, but never called
xa_destroy on it.

Since xarrays can allocate internal memory, this can result in a memory
leak even if every element in the xarray has been removed.

The xarray is currently embedded in the port_info structure. This appears
to have been done because its use is within functions that take the
port_info as a primary argument.

However, this complicates managing the lifecycle of the field. The
port_info structure is allocated in ice_init_hw() using devm, and it is
not released until the devm cleanup when the driver is unloaded.

The ice_init_hw() function is called in many places, including devlink
reload, and possibly during DDP load after updating the Tx scheduler
layout.

Adding a call of xa_destroy to the ice_deinit_hw() causes Sashiko to raise
multiple concerns due to potential ordering issues and possible ways that
port_info could be a dangling reference.

To handle this, move the sched_node_ids out of port_info and into the hw
structure. All users of the array already have a pointer to hw anyways, and
there is only one sched_node_ids per adapter. While here, remove the overly
verbose comment explaining the nature of the sched_node_ids xarray.

Add the missing xa_destroy to the cleanup path and to ice_deinit_hw(),
ensuring that we properly release the xarray memory.

This was caught by Sashiko during development of unrelated code.

## 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 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-09-30 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97979.json)