CVE-2026-72058: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ixp4xx_hss: fix duplicate HDLC netdev allocation ixp4xx_hss

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ixp4xx_hss: fix duplicate HDLC netdev allocation ixp4xx_hss_probe() allocates two HDL

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ixp4xx_hss: fix duplicate HDLC netdev allocation ixp4xx_hss_probe() allocates two HDLC netdevs. The first one is stored in ndev, initialized, and registered with register_hdlc_device(). The second one is stored in port->netdev and later used by the remove path for unregister_hdlc_device() and free_netdev(). This means that the registered netdev is not the same object that is unregistered and freed on remove. It also leaks the first allocation if the second alloc_hdlcdev() call fails, and the first allocation is not checked before ndev is used. Older code allocated the HDLC netdev only once and stored the same object in both the local variable and port->netdev. The buggy conversion split this into two alloc_hdlcdev() calls. A later rename changed the local variable name to ndev, but the underlying mismatch remained. Fix this by allocating the HDLC netdev only once and assigning the same object to port->netdev.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.21%, higher than 11% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 1, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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