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TI-2026-75631 Aliases CVE-2026-98503GHSA-mw3g-vwg9-8r8c

Linux kernel packet TX_RING slots can be reused while in use

Priority LOW 22Published · Updated

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
Partial Red Hat: 7 without a fix

No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

The Linux kernel packet subsystem is affected from 4.14.86 before 4.15, from 4.19.7 before 4.20, and from 4.20 in the branches fixed in 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. Packets sent through TX_RING hold references to ring slots, and the slot is released when the skb destructor runs, which can happen before the skb is freed. This lets a slot be reused while it is still linked into an skb. The sources do not describe the attacker's required access.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

Description from the CNA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: packet: use ubuf_info completion for TX_RING packets tpacket_snd sends skbs with frags pointing into its ring slots. Slots are released when skb->destructor is called. A call to skb_orphan calls skb->destructor before the skb is freed. This can cause the slot to be reused while still linked into the skb. Switch to standard zerocopy completion (ubuf_info) so the slot is only released once all references to the payload are freed or copied. Restore skb->destructor to standard sock_wfree. The ubuf_info completion callback can be called with a NULL skb, but only from net_zcopy_put and related API, used by zerocopy implementations that hold their own reference on the uarg, such as MSG_ZEROCOPY. This uarg is only ever completed from skb_zcopy_clear, so skb is always set. To prevent userspace from aliasing in-flight state on shared ring slots, allocate tpacket_uarg per packet, rather than per slot. This adds a small allocation to the transmit path. Use standard kmalloc to allow backporting to stable kernels. The uarg holds an sk_wmem_alloc reference, rather than an sk_refcnt reference. packet_free_tx_ring waits on sk_wmem_alloc before freeing the ring pages. Always allocate vec->deferred for tx_ring so page-backed rings also wait on sk_wmem_alloc when skb_copy_ubufs drops page refs before calling tpacket_ubuf_complete. Drop the tx_ring.pg_vec test that tpacket_destruct_skb performed before accessing the slot. The sk_wmem_alloc reference now guarantees that the slot is valid. The test is also not sufficient by itself, as it reads pg_vec without pg_vec_lock, so it can race with packet_set_ring. As a result a slot is released when its payload is copied, which can be before transmission (e.g., in skb_orphan_frags_rx). If copied before skb_tx_timestamp() is called, no slot timestamp is recorded, similar to when skb_orphan() was called early in the datapath before this patch. Revert the now unused previous skb_zcopy_.._nouarg infra. Depends on commit 992cc9f94ca9 ("net/packet: defer vmalloc TX_RING free until skbs finish").

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.002 9th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 4.15, 4.20, 6.12.112 +3Red Hat: 7 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux4.14.86 to before 4.15; 4.19.7 to before 4.204.15, 4.20Patch availableCNA
LinuxLinux4.20 and later6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.14.86 to before 4.15; 4.19.7 to before 4.20 Fixed in 4.15, 4.20 Patch available CNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.20 and later Fixed in 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

Update Linux kernel to 4.15, 4.20, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3, depending on the branch in use. Red Hat's plan is no fix planned for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and none available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9, 10, OpenShift Container Platform 4 and OpenShift Container Platform 5.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.15, 4.20
  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 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 →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98503
  2. 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-mw3g-vwg9-8r8c
  3. 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
  4. 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  5. 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  6. 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
See all 21741 →

Sources