In cake_drop(), qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog() is used to update the qlen and backlog of the qdisc hierarchy. Its caller, cake_enqueue(), assumes that the parent qdisc will enqueue the current packet. However, this assumption breaks when cake_enqueue() returns NET_XMIT_CN: the parent qdisc stops enqueuing current packet, leaving the tree qlen/backlog accounting inconsistent. This mismatch can lead to a NULL dereference (e.g., when the parent Qdisc is qfq_qdisc). This patch computes the qlen/backlog delta in a more robust way by observing the difference before and after the series of cake_drop() calls, and then compensates the qdisc tree accounting if cake_enqueue() returns NET_XMIT_CN. To ensure correct compensation when ACK thinning is enabled, a new variable is introduced to keep qlen unchanged. Fixes: 15de71d06a40 ("net/sched: Make cake_enqueue return NET_XMIT_CN when past buffer_limit") Signed-off-by: Xiang Mei <xmei5@asu.edu> Reviewed-by: Toke Høiland-Jørgensen <toke@toke.dk> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251128001415.377823-1-xmei5@asu.edu Signed-off-by: Paolo Abeni <pabeni@redhat.com>