net: macb: fix NULL pointer dereference on unbind with fixed-link
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: macb: fix NULL pointer dereference on unbind with fixed-link When the device tree describes a fixed-link and has no "mdio" child node, macb_mii_init() returns early without allocating the MDIO bus, leaving bp->mii_bus as NULL. Two cleanup paths then dereference this NULL bus: 1. On driver unbind, macb_remove() unconditionally calls mdiobus_unregister(bp->mii_bus), which oopses: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000000000004a8 pc : mdiobus_unregister+0x14/0xa4 lr : macb_remove+0x38/0xa4 Call trace: mdiobus_unregister+0x14/0xa4 (P) macb_remove+0x38/0xa4 platform_remove+0x20/0x30 device_release_driver_internal+0x1c8/0x224 unbind_store+0xb4/0xbc 2. On the probe error path in macb_probe(), reached when macb_mii_init() has succeeded but a subsequent step fails, the err_out_unregister_mdio label runs the same unconditional cleanup. mdiobus_unregister() and mdiobus_free() do not guard against a NULL bus, so guard the calls in both macb_remove() and the probe error path.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.1.114 to before 6.1.189; 6.6.58 to before 6.6.158; 5.10.228 to before 5.11; 5.15.169 to before 5.16; 6.11.5 to before 6.12 | 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 5.11, 5.16, 6.12 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.12 and later | 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.1.114 to before 6.1.189; 6.6.58 to before 6.6.158; 5.10.228 to before 5.11; 5.15.169 to before 5.16; 6.11.5 to before 6.12 Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 5.11, 5.16, 6.12 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.12 and later Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 5.11, 5.16, 6.12
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98008
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-h4xg-972w-f7c3
- 2026-10-03 Fix available: Linux/Linux@054ad8e66025eb4778d840bef80c270646cebcd2, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-03 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/afa224cabc0132ca414b9141b1a919ca2d318cd0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/054ad8e66025eb4778d840bef80c270646cebcd2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f737d999fcb8f276d77b01ea4c2016ee01dad19b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5710f6a74f63cbba0e15cd75917234916181c9d4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/edb39c7666bb3924da761dfb417db85c1e5d8ad3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38b6be101006d3e7af972999f45d4f1e8250587a
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98008 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98008 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h4xg-972w-f7c3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98008 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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