Wrong NAPI vector used for Rx queues in Linux kernel fbnic driver
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel fbnic network driver, from version 6.18, selects the wrong NAPI vector for Rx queues during queue management operations. The index calculation points Rx queues at Tx NAPI vectors when no standalone Tx vectors exist. A queue restart that arrives after a failed PCIe recovery can also reach rings and vectors that have already been freed.
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: eth: fbnic: use the Rx queue napi pointer to find the napi vector The queue management ndos pick the napi vector for an Rx queue with: nv = fbn->napi[idx % fbn->num_napi]; The issue is this is only correct in the cases where there are no standalone Tx vectors. In those cases we were allocating the Tx vectors first and then the Rx so the queues would be pointing to Tx NAPI vectors instead of the Rx ones. The mapping the ndos want is already recorded. fbnic_set_netif_napi() publishes it with netif_queue_set_napi(), which stores the napi pointer in netdev_rx_queue.napi, and fbnic_reset_netif_napi() clears it again. Both run under the netdev instance lock that the queue management ndos also hold, so the pointer can be read directly. Use it and drop the divide. The pointer is NULL exactly while the datapath is down, so fbnic_queue_mem_alloc() can reject that case rather than reaching into freed state: netdev_rx_queue_restart() calls it before it tests netif_running(), and fbnic_pm_suspend() leaves netif_running() true across a PCIe recovery that never completes, so a queue restart can arrive after fbnic_stop() has freed the rings and the vectors. fbnic_stop() clears the association in fbnic_reset_netif_queues() before fbnic_free_napi_vectors(), so the NULL is always published first. fbnic_queue_start() and fbnic_queue_stop() need no check of their own, as netdev_rx_queue_reconfig() only reaches them once fbnic_queue_mem_alloc() has succeeded under the same instance lock.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
The Linux kernel fixes are in versions 7.2.9 and 7.3, so update to one of these fixed versions.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 7.2.9, 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
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98617
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-j327-5j79-p464
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-98617 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98617 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-j327-5j79-p464 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98617 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences