HighCVE-2026-98014

    Linux Kernel: Use-After-Free (CVE-2026-98014)

    Published Last modified Sources: Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Debian, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, BSI

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    What is affected, what to do

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: E-Switch, prevent mc_list repopulation during vport disable In mlx5_esw_vport_disable(), move esw_apply_vport_rx_mode() ahead of esw_vport_change_handle_locked() so vport->allmulti_rule is NULL before the change handler observes it. During FW-fatal recovery the disable runs while dev->state == INTERNAL_ERROR.

    The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

    Conflicting version data — version display is hidden until the data is resolved.

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    7.1

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    7.1

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Debian, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, BSI

    0.2 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 6.7

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    High
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    63.61 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    7.1 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.1
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.2 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

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    6.7
    Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: E-Switch, prevent mc_list repopulation during vport disable In mlx5_esw_vport_disable(), move esw_apply_vport_rx_mode() ahead of esw_vport_change_handle_locked() so vport->allmulti_rule is NULL before the change handler observes it. During FW-fatal recovery the disable runs while dev->state == INTERNAL_ERROR. The promisc query inside esw_update_vport_rx_mode() fails and returns early, leaving vport->allmulti_rule intact, so esw_update_vport_mc_promisc() runs and adds MLX5_ACTION_ADD entries to vport->mc_list whose flow rules are then installed in the FDB by esw_add_mc_addr(). esw_destroy_legacy_table() tears down the FDB with those refs still held, corrupting the sub-tree and leaving dangling flow_rule pointers in vport->mc_list. Two-stage failure on `echo 1 > /sys/bus/pci/devices/<bdf>/reset`: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. tree_put_node+0xef/0x110 [mlx5_core] clean_tree+0x44/0xd0 [mlx5_core] (x5) mlx5_fs_core_cleanup+0x57/0x1c0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_unload+0x65/0xd0 [mlx5_core] ... mlx5_health_try_recover BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 0000000003000055 down_write+0x1c/0x60 mlx5_del_flow_rules+0x33/0x1f0 [mlx5_core] esw_del_mc_addr+0x7b/0x170 [mlx5_core] esw_apply_vport_addr_list+0x56/0xf0 [mlx5_core] esw_vport_change_handle_locked+0x28b/0x310 [mlx5_core] mlx5_esw_vport_enable+0x270/0x4a0 [mlx5_core] ... mlx5_load ... mlx5_health_try_recover esw_apply_vport_rx_mode(false, false) clears vport->allmulti_rule via its local state machine even when the FW del fails. With the rule NULL the !IS_ERR_OR_NULL(allmulti_rule) gate in the change handler closes, no rules are installed during disable, and the reload starts with a clean mc_list.

    Source: Ubuntu Security Notices, Debian LTS Advisories, Debian Security Advisories, NVD (NIST), Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    LinuxLinux
    • 6.3 – < 6.6.158
    • 5.15.105 – < 5.15.222
    • 6.1.22 – < 6.1.189
    • 6.2.9 – < 6.3
    • 6.13 – < 6.18.53
    • —
    • 5.10.177 – < 5.11
    • 6.19 – < 7.2.7
    • 6.7 – < 6.12.111
    • 6.6.158
    • 5.15.222
    • 6.1.189
    • 6.3
    • 6.18.53
    • 7.3
    • 5.11
    • 7.2.7
    • 6.12.111

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianlinuxbookworm
    Linuxdebianlinuxtrixie
    Linuxubuntulinuxjammy
    Linuxubuntulinuxresolute
    Linuxdebianlinux-6.12bookworm
    Linuxubuntulinux-awsjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-awsresolute
    Linuxubuntulinux-aws-5.15focal
    Linuxubuntulinux-aws-fipsjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-azurejammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-azure-5.15focal
    Linuxubuntulinux-azure-fdejammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-azure-fde-5.15focal
    Linuxubuntulinux-azure-fipsjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-fipsjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-gcpjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-gcpresolute
    Linuxubuntulinux-gcp-5.15focal
    Linuxubuntulinux-gcp-fipsjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-gkejammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-gkeopjammy
    Linuxubuntulinux-hwe-5.15focal
    Linuxubuntulinux-hwe-7.0noble
    Linuxubuntulinux-ibmjammy

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedLinux

      1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98014.json">CVE-2026-98014</a>

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    2. Record modifiedLinux

      Show 4 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98014.json">CVE-2026-98014</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2196f9d3358b00fcb28835a5fde14071f51ecb96
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/413e04adcc1fd263cf02b1b83b4a0dbdc66bcee9
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5a2b87dfceccf9065157a14a599d395c2b6281b8

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    3. ReceivedLinux

      Description added or changed

      Show 6 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Descriptionadded
      —
      In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: E-Switch, prevent mc_list repopulation during vport disable In mlx5_esw_vport_disable(), move esw_apply_vport_rx_mode() ahead of esw_vport_change_handle_locked() so vport->allmulti_rule is NULL before the change handler observes it. During FW-fatal recovery the disable runs while dev->state == INTERNAL_ERROR. The promisc query inside esw_update_vport_rx_mode() fails and returns early, leaving vport->allmulti_rule intact, so esw_update_vport_mc_promisc() runs and adds MLX5_ACTION_ADD entries to vport->mc_list whose flow rules are then installed in the FDB by esw_add_mc_addr(). esw_destroy_legacy_table() tears down the FDB with those refs still held, corrupting the sub-tree and leaving dangling flow_rule pointers in vport->mc_list. Two-stage failure on `echo 1 > /sys/bus/pci/devices/<bdf>/reset`: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. tree_put_node+0xef/0x110 [mlx5_core] clean_tree+0x44/0xd0 [mlx5_core] (x5) mlx5_fs_core_cleanup+0x57/0x1c0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_unload+0x65/0xd0 [mlx5_core] ... mlx5_health_try_recover BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 0000000003000055 down_write+0x1c/0x60 mlx5_del_flow_rules+0x33/0x1f0 [mlx5_core] esw_del_mc_addr+0x7b/0x170 [mlx5_core] esw_apply_vport_addr_list+0x56/0xf0 [mlx5_core] esw_vport_change_handle_locked+0x28b/0x310 [mlx5_core] mlx5_esw_vport_enable+0x270/0x4a0 [mlx5_core] ... mlx5_load ... mlx5_health_try_recover esw_apply_vport_rx_mode(false, false) clears vport->allmulti_rule via its local state machine even when the FW del fails. With the rule NULL the !IS_ERR_OR_NULL(allmulti_rule) gate in the change handler closes, no rules are installed during disable, and the reload starts with a clean mc_list.
      Affected versions (publisher)added
      —
      New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98014.json">CVE-2026-98014</a>
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/668e050429c7ca688cf4e7112f97f0cd269d446b
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/69904608e25e8ba58111aadd9210892cf3876201
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/72cfcb79026cffb6490f5044153a841d360b0cfc
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0c6f4ba8a37688f7b4d4044898d88f0450d44c2

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

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