In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free devlink relation state is normally released from devl_unregister(), which calls devlink_rel_put(). This misses devlink instances that get a nested relation before registration and then fail probe before devl_register() is reached. That flow can happen for SFs. The child devlink gets linked to its parent before registration, then a later probe error calls devlink_free() directly. Since the instance was never registered, devl_unregister() is not called and devlink->rel is leaked. Release any pending relation from devlink_free() as well. The registered path is unchanged because devl_unregister() already clears devlink->rel before devlink_free() runs.

A flaw was found in the `devlink` component of the Linux kernel. This issue occurs when a devlink instance acquires a nested relation but fails to register, leading to a resource leak. This can result in system instability or a denial of service (DoS) over time due to resource exhaustion.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Fix deferred kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Fix deferred kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Fix deferred kernel-rt https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53261 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53261 https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026062516-CVE-2026-53261-bde9@gregkh/T