Inconsistent RX state after failed reload in Linux lan966x driver
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
The Linux kernel from 5.19 is affected by a flaw in the lan966x network driver, where the RX state is not fully restored after a failed MTU reload. The reload path changes the page order and maximum MTU without restoring them on failure, so RX restarts with old pages and new page geometry. This can make the XDP path use a frame size larger than the restored RX pages.
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: net: lan966x: restore RX state on reload failure lan966x_fdma_reload() backs up rx->page_pool and rx->fdma before reallocating the RX resources for the new MTU. If the allocation fails, the restore path puts these fields back before restarting RX. However, the reload path also updates rx->page_order and rx->max_mtu before calling lan966x_fdma_rx_alloc(). These fields are not restored on failure, so RX can be restarted with the old pages, old FDMA state and old page pool, but with the page geometry from the failed new MTU. This can make the XDP path advertise a frame size derived from the new page_order while the actual RX pages still come from the old allocation. For example, after a failed reload to a jumbo MTU, xdp_init_buff() may be called with a frame size larger than the restored RX pages. lan966x_fdma_rx_alloc_page_pool() also registers the newly allocated page pool with each port's XDP RXQ before fdma_alloc_coherent() is called. If fdma_alloc_coherent() fails, the new page pool is destroyed, but the rollback path does not restore the per-port XDP RXQ mem model registration either. Save and restore rx->page_order and rx->max_mtu, and restore the old page pool registration for each port's XDP RXQ before RX is started again. This keeps the restored RX state consistent after a failed reload.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.12.111, 6.18.53, or 7.2. The sources list no fixed version for Red Hat Enterprise Linux products.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2
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
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98906
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-2fw9-6rfh-9q85
- 2026-10-26 Fix available: Linux/Linux@0 · CNA
- 2026-10-27 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-27 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
More Linux vulnerabilities
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- 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-2026-98906 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98906 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2fw9-6rfh-9q85 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98906 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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