consume_skb(9)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so you're reading the Kernel API Manual, bestie, and this page is literally about consume_skb — free an skbuff. that's the whole vibe. ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void consume_skb (struct sk_buff *skb );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• skb — buffer to free. that's the one, bestie 🫶

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

Drop a ref to the buffer and free it if the usage count has hit zero. lowkey iconic behavior, no cap.

Functions identically to kfree_skb, but kfree_skb assumes that the frame is being dropped after a failure and notes that — and yep, that's where the sentence lands, don't come for me 😭. so consume_skb is the same deal, but it's not assuming failure. periodt. 💅

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

Kernel file: ./net/core/skbuff.c — and then the whole friend group shows up:

• drop_reasons_register_subsys(9)
• drop_reasons_unregister_subsys(9)
• skb_panic(9)
• napi_skb_cache_get_bulk(9)
• __build_skb(9)
• build_skb_around(9)
• __napi_build_skb(9)
• napi_build_skb(9)
• __alloc_skb(9)
• __netdev_alloc_skb(9)
• napi_alloc_skb(9)
• skb_pp_cow_data(9)
• skb_pp_frag_ref(9)
• __kfree_skb(9)
• sk_skb_reason_drop(9)
• skb_tx_error(9)
• __consume_stateless_skb(9)
• napi_consume_skb(9)
• alloc_skb_for_msg(9)
• skb_morph(9)
• skb_copy_ubufs(9)
• skb_clone(9)
• skb_copy(9)
• __pskb_copy_fclone(9)
• pskb_expand_head(9)
• skb_expand_head(9)
• skb_copy_expand(9)
• __skb_pad(9)
• pskb_put(9)
• skb_put(9)
• skb_push(9)
• skb_pull(9)
• skb_pull_data(9)
• skb_trim(9)
• __pskb_pull_tail(9)
• skb_copy_bits(9)
• skb_store_bits(9)
• skb_zerocopy(9)
• skb_dequeue(9)
• skb_dequeue_tail(9)
• skb_queue_purge_reason(9)
• skb_rbtree_purge(9)
• skb_queue_head(9)
• skb_queue_tail(9)
• skb_unlink(9)
• skb_append(9)
• skb_split(9)
• skb_shift(9)
• skb_prepare_seq_read(9)
• skb_seq_read(9)
• skb_abort_seq_read(9)
• skb_copy_seq_read(9)
• skb_find_text(9)
• skb_pull_rcsum(9)
• skb_segment(9)
• skb_to_sgvec(9)
• skb_cow_data(9)
• skb_clone_sk(9)
• skb_partial_csum_set(9)
• skb_checksum_setup(9)
• skb_checksum_maybe_trim(9)
• skb_checksum_trimmed(9)
• skb_try_coalesce(9)
• skb_scrub_packet(9)
• skb_eth_pop(9)
• skb_eth_push(9)
• skb_mpls_push(9)
• skb_mpls_pop(9)
• skb_mpls_update_lse(9)
• skb_mpls_dec_ttl(9)
• alloc_skb_with_frags(9)
• skb_condense(9)
• __skb_ext_alloc(9)
• __skb_ext_set(9)
• skb_ext_add(9)
• skb_attempt_defer_free(9)
• skb_splice_from_iter(9)

okay bye bestie, this page is from ./net/core, dated October 2026, and it's literally titled consume_skb(9) 💖✨🫶