Linux Kernel: security vulnerability (CVE-2026-98646)

What is affected, what to do

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Skip cond_resched() in inet_csk_listen_stop() under BPF context bpf_sock_destroy() runs from the tcp iterator, under rcu_read_lock(). If the sock is a listener that still has children in its accept queue, tcp_abort() ends up in inet_csk_listen_stop() and the cond_resched() there trips the debug check: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at net/ipv4/inet_connection_sock.c:1523 in_atomic(): 0, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 628, name: test_progs preempt_count: 0, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 1, expected: 0 locks held by test_progs/628: 3, last CPU#3: #0: ffff8881158cee18 (&p->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: bpf_seq_read+0x56/0x1210 #1: ffff8881106bb858 (sk_lock-AF_INET6){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x32b/0x4b0 #2: ffffffffb435af20 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: bpf_iter_run_prog+0x46b/0xde0 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 628 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G W 7.2.0+ #65 PREEMPT Tainted: [W]=WARN Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xc1/0xf0 dump_stack+0x10/0x20 __might_resched+0x3d2/0x610 inet_csk_listen_stop+0x7b/0xbf0 tcp_abort+0x23b/0x3b0 bpf_sock_destroy+0xfc/0x140 bpf_prog_448133d24601754f_iter_tcp6_server+0x81/0x8a bpf_iter_run_prog+0x538/0xde0 bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x26b/0x4b0 bpf_seq_read+0x424/0x1210 vfs_read+0x197/0xe40 ksys_read+0x119/0x240 __x64_sys_read+0x72/0xc0 x64_sys_call+0x647/0x27e0 do_syscall_64+0xe5/0x610 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fad39b28aca RSP: 002b:00007ffc381c61c0 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffc381c6a88 RCX: 00007fad39b28aca RDX: 0000000000000032 RSI: 00007ffc381c6250 RDI: 0000000000000014 RBP: 00007ffc381c61e0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 000055f077c1bbb0 R15: 00007fad3a0f3000 </TASK> The commit that added the kfunc already guards lock_sock() in tcp_abort() and udp_abort() with has_current_bpf_ctx(), but missed the listener path.

Update Linux Kernel to version 6.6.158, Linux Kernel to version 6.12.112, Linux Kernel to version 6.18.55.

Affected: Linux Kernel lt 6.5..6.6.158
Linux Kernel lt 6.7..6.12.112
Linux Kernel lt 6.13..6.18.55
Linux Kernel lt 6.19..7.2.9
Fixed in: Linux Kernel 6.6.158
Linux Kernel 6.12.112
Linux Kernel 6.18.55
Linux Kernel 7.2.9
Linux Kernel 7.3

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Metrics

4.4

Priority

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

Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

4.4

CVSS v3

Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

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

0.2 %

EPSS score

Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 6.1

Show all metrics

Severity: Medium
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: 52.29 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: 4.4 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: 4.4
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. Read in glossary: 6.1; 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: 18.10.2026

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: Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
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: tcp: Skip cond_resched() in inet_csk_listen_stop() under BPF context bpf_sock_destroy() runs from the tcp iterator, under rcu_read_lock(). If the sock is a listener that still has children in its accept queue, tcp_abort() ends up in inet_csk_listen_stop() and the cond_resched() there trips the debug check: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at net/ipv4/inet_connection_sock.c:1523 in_atomic(): 0, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 628, name: test_progs preempt_count: 0, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 1, expected: 0 locks held by test_progs/628: 3, last CPU#3: #0: ffff8881158cee18 (&p->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: bpf_seq_read+0x56/0x1210 #1: ffff8881106bb858 (sk_lock-AF_INET6){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x32b/0x4b0 #2: ffffffffb435af20 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: bpf_iter_run_prog+0x46b/0xde0 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 628 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G W 7.2.0+ #65 PREEMPT Tainted: [W]=WARN Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xc1/0xf0 dump_stack+0x10/0x20 __might_resched+0x3d2/0x610 inet_csk_listen_stop+0x7b/0xbf0 tcp_abort+0x23b/0x3b0 bpf_sock_destroy+0xfc/0x140 bpf_prog_448133d24601754f_iter_tcp6_server+0x81/0x8a bpf_iter_run_prog+0x538/0xde0 bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x26b/0x4b0 bpf_seq_read+0x424/0x1210 vfs_read+0x197/0xe40 ksys_read+0x119/0x240 __x64_sys_read+0x72/0xc0 x64_sys_call+0x647/0x27e0 do_syscall_64+0xe5/0x610 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fad39b28aca RSP: 002b:00007ffc381c61c0 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffc381c6a88 RCX: 00007fad39b28aca RDX: 0000000000000032 RSI: 00007ffc381c6250 RDI: 0000000000000014 RBP: 00007ffc381c61e0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 000055f077c1bbb0 R15: 00007fad3a0f3000 </TASK> The commit that added the kfunc already guards lock_sock() in tcp_abort() and udp_abort() with has_current_bpf_ctx(), but missed the listener path. Do the same for the cond_resched(). The loop runs inside the iterator's rcu_read_lock(), it must not reschedule or report a quiescent state there.

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

Affected products
		Affected versions	Fixed in
Linux	Linux	`6.13 – < 6.18.55` `—` `6.7 – < 6.12.112` `6.5 – < 6.6.158` `6.19 – < 7.2.9`	`6.18.55` `7.3` `6.12.112` `6.6.158` `7.2.9`

Vendors and products

Affected operating systems

Linux	debian	linux-6.12	`bookworm`

References & sources

git.kernel.orgstable/c/23da88d1597ee7fdda373e1530284b763710911f
git.kernel.orgstable/c/55bbebf2829c3f47c5a48fc261740301d0f25f48
git.kernel.orgstable/c/5b52417c6196e05618a3b5d9753dbed9adef0166
git.kernel.orgstable/c/eaab8cab451b9502ce224cd202550375b894a467
git.kernel.orgstable/c/ee7246bccb9da66076dd8094daa48bdc761d6b76

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).

19.10.2026Record modifiedLinux

1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)

Show the original change

Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
Type	Action	Before	After
Affected versions (publisher)	added	—	Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98646.json">CVE-2026-98646</a>

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

18.10.2026ReceivedLinux

Description added or changed

New references:

and 1 more reference

Show 7 original changes

Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
Type	Action	Before	After
Description	added	—	In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tcp: Skip cond_resched() in inet_csk_listen_stop() under BPF context bpf_sock_destroy() runs from the tcp iterator, under rcu_read_lock(). If the sock is a listener that still has children in its accept queue, tcp_abort() ends up in inet_csk_listen_stop() and the cond_resched() there trips the debug check: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at net/ipv4/inet_connection_sock.c:1523 in_atomic(): 0, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 628, name: test_progs preempt_count: 0, expected: 0 RCU nest depth: 1, expected: 0 locks held by test_progs/628: 3, last CPU#3: #0: ffff8881158cee18 (&p->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: bpf_seq_read+0x56/0x1210 #1: ffff8881106bb858 (sk_lock-AF_INET6){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x32b/0x4b0 #2: ffffffffb435af20 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: bpf_iter_run_prog+0x46b/0xde0 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 628 Comm: test_progs Tainted: G W 7.2.0+ #65 PREEMPT Tainted: [W]=WARN Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0xc1/0xf0 dump_stack+0x10/0x20 __might_resched+0x3d2/0x610 inet_csk_listen_stop+0x7b/0xbf0 tcp_abort+0x23b/0x3b0 bpf_sock_destroy+0xfc/0x140 bpf_prog_448133d24601754f_iter_tcp6_server+0x81/0x8a bpf_iter_run_prog+0x538/0xde0 bpf_iter_tcp_seq_show+0x26b/0x4b0 bpf_seq_read+0x424/0x1210 vfs_read+0x197/0xe40 ksys_read+0x119/0x240 __x64_sys_read+0x72/0xc0 x64_sys_call+0x647/0x27e0 do_syscall_64+0xe5/0x610 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fad39b28aca RSP: 002b:00007ffc381c61c0 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000000 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007ffc381c6a88 RCX: 00007fad39b28aca RDX: 0000000000000032 RSI: 00007ffc381c6250 RDI: 0000000000000014 RBP: 00007ffc381c61e0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 000055f077c1bbb0 R15: 00007fad3a0f3000 </TASK> The commit that added the kfunc already guards lock_sock() in tcp_abort() and udp_abort() with has_current_bpf_ctx(), but missed the listener path. Do the same for the cond_resched(). The loop runs inside the iterator's rcu_read_lock(), it must not reschedule or report a quiescent state there.
Affected versions (publisher)	added	—	New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98646.json">CVE-2026-98646</a>
Reference	added	—	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23da88d1597ee7fdda373e1530284b763710911f
Reference	added	—	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55bbebf2829c3f47c5a48fc261740301d0f25f48
Reference	added	—	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b52417c6196e05618a3b5d9753dbed9adef0166
Reference	added	—	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eaab8cab451b9502ce224cd202550375b894a467
Reference	added	—	https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee7246bccb9da66076dd8094daa48bdc761d6b76