---
id: "CVE-2026-99043"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-99043"]
title: "Linux kernel ice driver: representor teardown can free packets' metadata too early"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["infrastructure", "intel-ice", "kernel", "linux", "sr-iov", "switchdev"]
not_affected_if: ["no-intel-ice-nic", "no-switchdev-representors"]
published_at: "2026-10-23T13:17:27+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T04:54:13+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99043", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel ice driver: representor teardown can free packets' metadata too early

In the Linux kernel's Intel ice network driver, tearing down a switchdev representor frees its metadata_dst while packets queued on the lower device still reference it. The sources describe a use-after-free style memory safety bug and do not state what an attacker can achieve with it.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- Run `uname -r` and check whether the kernel includes the upstream ice refcount fix
- Check whether the ice driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep ice` and whether switchdev representors are in use (`devlink dev eswitch show` on the PCI device)

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream commit 'ice: fix metadata_dst refcount handling on representor teardown' once distributions ship it
- Check your distribution's advisory for the exact fixed kernel version, which the sources do not give

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99043

## From the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ice: fix metadata_dst refcount handling on representor teardown

ice_eswitch_release_repr() uses metadata_dst_free() to release the
representor's metadata_dst.  metadata_dst_free() directly frees the
underlying memory without checking the dst_entry refcount.

When ice_eswitch_port_start_xmit() processes a packet, it takes a
reference via dst_hold() and attaches the metadata_dst to the skb.
If the representor is torn down while packets are still queued on
the lower device (e.g. in a qdisc), the metadata_dst is freed while
references are still held.

Use dst_release() instead, which correctly decrements the refcount
and only frees the object when all references are dropped.  The dst
subsystem already handles metadata_dst cleanup in dst_destroy() when
DST_METADATA is set.

Other drivers sharing this pattern (nfp, airoha, bnxt) already use
dst_release() for their metadata_dst lifecycle.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_