Soft lockup in Linux atl1e network driver on out-of-range read
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
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The atl1e network driver in the Linux kernel from 2.6.27 can cause a soft lockup. The hardware can report an out-of-range hw_next_to_clean value, seen as 0xffff, while the PCIe link or MAC is resetting, and the driver's cleanup loop then spins forever.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: atl1e: fix soft lockup on out-of-range hw_next_to_clean read Same issue as atl1c (see the first commit in this series, "net: atl1c: fix soft lockup on out-of-range tpd_cons read"): the hardware can report an out-of-range hw_next_to_clean (seen as 0xffff) while the PCIe link/MAC is resetting. An out-of-range value can never be reached and the loop below would spin forever. Treat it as "nothing new to clean" instead.
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 | 2.6.27 and later | 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.27 and later Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 as affected without a fix, with the plan none_available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98488
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-5jr3-mhw7-v4fq
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca862b1a4af7eac19429ca7ab92625f94ff4a46c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4bbb44075bd3e773d61706882ab923ece8b3b519
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34bc747a61bef572244b01b095552b629cd8d2a2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d8c85359b5075c7937925b673add7ed00e57ec8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a277422d194c62daa1b961f5f739689e53fe7301
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b7161804d8f31227551901f93947bb4eea4690b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a7d9271b37c80fb7db04aff3bc5621cfdaf9bee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/374bf9e4b90f979e052332c4faca2d745c491a12
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98488 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98488 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5jr3-mhw7-v4fq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98488 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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