CVE-2026-80982: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix use-after-free in smc_rx_pipe_buf_release() smc_rx

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix use-after-free in smc_rx_pipe_buf_release() smc_rx_splice() hands RMB pages t

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix use-after-free in smc_rx_pipe_buf_release() smc_rx_splice() hands RMB pages to a pipe and takes a socket reference per entry so the smc_sock stays alive until the reader finishes. The connection does not: a concurrent close runs smc_conn_free(), which releases the receive buffer back to the link group pool. smc_rx_pipe_buf_release() tests sk_state before taking the socket lock. The state can change between the test and the lock, and smc_rx_update_cons() then dereferences conn->rmb_desc and walks conn->lgr, which smc_conn_free() has already released. On the is_reg_err path smcr_buf_unuse() frees the descriptor outright, so this is a use-after-free. Take the socket lock first and test conn->freed instead. smc_conn_free() sets that flag before releasing anything, and every caller holds the socket lock. The two paths exclude each other: either the pipe release runs first with everything valid, or it sees the flag and skips the update.

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 0.16%, higher than 5% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
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.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.