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CVE-2026-98796

net: ethernet: mtk_eth_soc: allocate dummy netdev sooner

CVSS score

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EPSS probability

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Risk score

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Published

12 h ago

Patch status has not yet been verified

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Vulnerability description

CVE AI research

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DayBreach AI Explanation

Verified against sources

Linux Kernel mtk_eth_soc Driver Timing Vulnerability

Sources read

2

Source agreement

Tam uyum

Evidence confidence

%63

Short explanation

A timing window exists in the Linux kernel mtk_eth_soc Ethernet driver because the internal dummy netdev and shared NAPI structures are allocated after MAC netdev registration. This can lead to NULL pointer dereference issues if network interfaces are activated prematurely.

Why does it matter?

When network interfaces are brought up early before shared NAPI and dummy device components are initialized, it can trigger memory dereference errors leading to kernel crashes or undefined behavior.

What should be done?

  • Allocating the dummy netdev and shared NAPI prior to the register_netdev loop
  • Unwinding errors safely through mtk_unreg_dev during allocation or registration failures
  • Canceling pending work queues before freeing shared state on error paths
Chain of evidence and sources3 verified claims

mtk_probe() fonksiyonu, dummy netdev ve paylaşılan NAPI yapısını MAC netdev kayıtlarından sonra oluşturmaktadır.

NETSYS v2 ve sonraki Soc mimarilerinde eth->dummy_dev değerinin NULL olması XDP kayıt hatasına neden olur.

NETSYS v1 mimarilerinde başlatılmamış napi_struct üzerinde napi_enable() çağrılması NULL napi->dev hatasına yol açar.

Show the technical text from the sources

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: mtk_eth_soc: allocate dummy netdev sooner The RX rings and the shared NAPI are carried by an internal "dummy" netdev (eth->dummy_dev). mtk_probe() creates that dummy device, and adds the shared tx/rx NAPI to it, only after the MAC netdevs have been registered. That order has been there since the MT7623 support was added and leaves a window in which the netdevs are visible to the network core before the shared NAPI and the dummy device exist. If anything brings the first netdev up during that window (e.g. netifd opening the WAN link the instant the interface is registered), the first-open path runs without them. On NETSYS v2 and later SoCs mtk_rx_alloc() -> __xdp_rxq_info_reg() then dereferences eth->dummy_dev == NULL: WARNING: CPU: ... Missing net_device from driver in net/core/xdp.c and mtk_open() fails with -ENODEV. On NETSYS v1 SoCs (MT7621/MT7622/MT7623/MT7629) there is no page pool, so the same open instead calls napi_enable() on a napi_struct that netif_napi_add() has not initialised yet and dereferences a NULL napi->dev. Allocate the dummy netdev and add the shared tx/rx NAPI to it before the register_netdev() loop. Both the dummy-allocation failure and a register_netdev() failure now unwind through mtk_unreg_dev(), which unregisters the net_device notifiers and the netdevs registered so far, stopping a concurrently-opened netdev (ndo_stop) and its NAPI before the dummy carrier is freed. A netdev that opened during the window can also have queued the frame-engine reset worker (via the tx watchdog or phylink), so the probe error path now cancels eth->pending_work before freeing the shared state, as mtk_cleanup() already does on remove.

Explanation produced with the local gemini-flash-lite-latest model. Numerical metrics and the KEV, patch and exploit statuses are not determined by AI.

IMPACT: Affected Products and Software

Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-98796 vulnerability. Where our threat engine knows the exact affected versions, they are listed below.

IDVENDORPRODUCTACTION
1linuxLinux View
2linuxLinux View
Total affected vendors: 1|Products: 2

RED HAT CSAF/VEX: Product Impact Check

Red Hat has not yet published a CSAF/VEX impact record for this CVE. This does not mean “not affected”.

SCORING: CVSS from Multiple Sources

CVSS Scores

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardised framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and display CVSS scores from several sources for each CVE.

SCOREVERSIONSEVERITYVECTORSOURCE
The sources have not yet published a verified CVSS metric.

Patch and Remediation Guide

Solution & Remediation Advisory

Patch status unknown

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Confirm the affected product and version against the source evidence above.
Restrict access to internet-facing services and apply network segmentation.
Until a patch is confirmed, follow the vendor advisory; do not read an unknown status as “no patch”.
Monitor server logs and network endpoints for signs of anomalous execution.

Public exploit and active exploitation status

Verified exploit intelligence

No verified public PoC, exploit repository or Metasploit module has been found for this CVE yet.

Weakness Classification and Attack Patterns (CWE & CAPEC)

CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorises the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-98796 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-98796 weaknesses.

Official Sources and Advisories

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