---
id: CVE-2026-80988
title: >-
  kernel: NTB: ntb_transport: Fail TX enqueue when the QP link is down
  (CVE-2026-80988)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Non-Transparent Bridge (NTB) transport
  module. When the NTB transport attempts to transmit packets while the Queue
  Pair (QP) link is down, the system incorrectly reports a successful
  transmission with…
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-772
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-14T19:55:24+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80988.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80988.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-80988'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532251'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80988'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80988'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80988.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76c9ccc0c6bebfc74c0e727eda67687f5103ab06'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/96d792c65b9d5f7f9dd86a1004315db59e450c07'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45cc11035165918dd1f81796ea98f81ece20d361'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6cc541fab01099fd8efadfa4f13afdf118bf536'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5eca0d899a3be661a7e2caaaa7467a6fa15d756c'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/894e136b432da75c0352c80299807a5c4b04f167'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89177732fe1653bbfef10cf5d99bf20cf57762c2'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/873ce713fef5dde0939220f04f3484ec86a16fba'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.0022
epssPercentile: 0.11082
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.454Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Non-Transparent Bridge (NTB) transport module. When the NTB transport attempts to transmit packets while the Queue Pair (QP) link is down, the system incorrectly reports a successful transmission without properly consuming the packet. This oversight leads to a memory leak, where system memory is not released, potentially affecting system stability and performance over an extended period.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-09-14 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80988.json)

**kernel: NTB: ntb_transport: Fail TX enqueue when the QP link is down** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-14.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Fix deferred