---
id: "CVE-2026-99044"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-99044"]
title: "Linux kernel ice driver: use-after-free during dynamic port cleanup"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: 0.00209
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["ice-driver", "intel-ethernet", "linux-kernel", "runtime"]
not_affected_if: ["no-intel-ice-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-23T13:17:27+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99044", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99044", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel ice driver: use-after-free during dynamic port cleanup

The Linux kernel's ice network driver frees a VSI structure before reading its index to remove a dynamic port entry, which is a use-after-free. The sources do not say what an attacker gains from triggering it.

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

## How to check

- `uname -r` to see the running kernel version
- Check whether the `ice` driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep ice` on hosts with Intel Ethernet adapters
- unknown whether dynamic ports are reachable by an unprivileged user

## Fix

- Update to a kernel release that includes the upstream commit fixing ice dynamic port cleanup (version unknown from the sources)
- unknown for any other mitigation

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99044
- 2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-99044

## From the sources

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

ice: fix use-after-free in dynamic port cleanup

ice_dealloc_dynamic_port() uses dyn_port->vsi->idx to erase the dynamic
port from pf->dyn_ports. However, it frees the VSI before reading the
index for the erase, resulting in a use-after-free.

Follow the reverse of the allocation order in ice_alloc_dynamic_port()
by erasing the xarray entry before freeing the VSI.

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