---
id: CVE-2026-80984
title: >-
  kernel: net/smc: do not dereference an unset send buffer on the SMC-D teardown
  path (CVE-2026-80984)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the `net/smc` component of the Linux kernel. When a link
  group terminates while a socket is waiting in `smc_close_stream_wait()`, a
  NULL pointer dereference can occur during the SMC-D teardown path. This can
  lead to a 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'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-476
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-14T19:27:08+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80984.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80984.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-80984'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532437'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80984'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80984'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80984.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab26e12dd5d2f43d939fcf456933a816e81d2e51'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e3fcff8d22a6c9540748846cd800443a643553a6'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f950e1b1f0aad334f9a9ee552c4dd5b794ebdd45'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f517cf02033801a28f98d86ca613a3533cf066b3'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b395dd319cea422239cb45b998fb38d7e373af87'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00209
epssPercentile: 0.09786
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.454Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the `net/smc` component of the Linux kernel. When a link group terminates while a socket is waiting in `smc_close_stream_wait()`, a NULL pointer dereference can occur during the SMC-D teardown path. This can lead to a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · 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 2026-09-14 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80984.json)

**kernel: net/smc: do not dereference an unset send buffer on the SMC-D teardown path** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-14.

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

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Fix deferred