An error in the Linux kernel’s RDS implementation causes the state machine to bypass the normal shutdown path when a connection enters the RDS_CONN_ERROR state. The code mistakenly shortcuts from RDS_CONN_ERROR directly back to RDS_CONN_CONNECTING, and then can be forced into RDS_CONN_RESETTING, leaving a shutdown worker queued forever. This flaw creates a dead‑loop that consumes kernel resources, leading to a denial of service for systems that use the RDS stack.

Any Linux kernel build that includes the RDS networking subsystem and has not applied the log of commits that restore the full shutdown sequence is vulnerable. This spans all kernel versions regulated by the identified commits. Vendor‑specific downstream patching information is not supplied in the references, so users should check whether their distribution’s kernel contains the commit 19e384a7d00d888303a8285977cdf1970c6cccd6 or the other referenced changes.

The CVSS base score of 7.5 indicates high impact. The EPSS score is 0.00024 (less than 1%), indicating a very low probability of exploitation, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Based on the description, it is inferred that an attacker can trigger the flaw by establishing or flooding RDS connections, which is a remote network attack. Because the flaw can be exercised remotely without privilege escalation, it can be a realistic risk for servers with RDS enabled.