CVE-2026-53227

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Open vSwitch (OVS) component. This issue occurs due to incorrect error handling during the allocation of a 'reply' skb (socket buffer) after locking the ovs_mutex. If the allocation fails, an invalid pointer may be passed to kfree_skb, leading to a system crash and resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

This vulnerability is rated as Moderate impact for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because triggering the flaw requires local access to interact with the Open vSwitch subsystem under specific memory allocation failure conditions, limiting the impact to a denial of service without compromising system confidentiality or integrity. The openvswitch kernel module is not loaded by default on standard installations and is only present when Open vSwitch or software-defined networking solutions are explicitly configured.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.