ipv4: Fix reference count leak when using error routes with nexthop objects
When a nexthop object is deleted, it is marked as dead and then
fib_table_flush() is called to flush all the routes that are using the
dead nexthop.
The current logic in fib_table_flush() is to only flush error routes
(e.g., blackhole) when it is called as part of network namespace
dismantle (i.e., with flush_all=true). Therefore, error routes are not
flushed when their nexthop object is deleted:
# ip link add name dummy1 up type dummy
# ip nexthop add id 1 dev dummy1
# ip route add 198.51.100.1/32 nhid 1
# ip route add blackhole 198.51.100.2/32 nhid 1
# ip nexthop del id 1
# ip route show
blackhole 198.51.100.2 nhid 1 dev dummy1
As such, they keep holding a reference on the nexthop object which in
turn holds a reference on the nexthop device, resulting in a reference
count leak:
# ip link del dev dummy1
[ 70.516258] unregister_netdevice: waiting for dummy1 to become free. Usage count = 2
Fix by flushing error routes when their nexthop is marked as dead.
IPv6 does not suffer from this problem.
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
Debian DLA |
DLA-4475-1 | linux security update |
Debian DLA |
DLA-4476-1 | linux-6.1 security update |
Debian DSA |
DSA-6126-1 | linux security update |
Debian DSA |
DSA-6127-1 | linux security update |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8096-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8096-2 | Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8096-3 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8096-4 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8096-5 | Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra IGX) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8116-1 | Linux kernel (Intel IoTG Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8141-1 | Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8163-1 | Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8163-2 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8177-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8179-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8177-2 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8183-1 | Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8184-1 | Linux kernel (Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8179-2 | Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8185-1 | Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8179-3 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8183-2 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8203-1 | Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8204-1 | Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi Real-time) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8185-2 | Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8179-4 | Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8243-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8245-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8257-1 | Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8258-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8260-1 | Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8261-1 | Linux kernel (Xilinx) vulnerabilities |
Ubuntu USN |
USN-8265-1 | Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities |
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 17:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | NVD-CWE-Other | |
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.3:-:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* |
|
| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
|
cvssV3_1
|
Mon, 19 Jan 2026 12:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
|
Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv4: Fix reference count leak when using error routes with nexthop objects When a nexthop object is deleted, it is marked as dead and then fib_table_flush() is called to flush all the routes that are using the dead nexthop. The current logic in fib_table_flush() is to only flush error routes (e.g., blackhole) when it is called as part of network namespace dismantle (i.e., with flush_all=true). Therefore, error routes are not flushed when their nexthop object is deleted: # ip link add name dummy1 up type dummy # ip nexthop add id 1 dev dummy1 # ip route add 198.51.100.1/32 nhid 1 # ip route add blackhole 198.51.100.2/32 nhid 1 # ip nexthop del id 1 # ip route show blackhole 198.51.100.2 nhid 1 dev dummy1 As such, they keep holding a reference on the nexthop object which in turn holds a reference on the nexthop device, resulting in a reference count leak: # ip link del dev dummy1 [ 70.516258] unregister_netdevice: waiting for dummy1 to become free. Usage count = 2 Fix by flushing error routes when their nexthop is marked as dead. IPv6 does not suffer from this problem. | |
| Title | ipv4: Fix reference count leak when using error routes with nexthop objects | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-11T21:54:41.289Z
Reserved: 2026-01-13T15:30:19.650Z
Link: CVE-2025-71097
No data.
Status : Analyzed
Published: 2026-01-13T16:16:09.583
Modified: 2026-03-25T16:56:30.463
Link: CVE-2025-71097
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Debian DLA
Debian DSA
Ubuntu USN