CVE-2026-98217

Received Received - Intake

BaseFortify

Publication date: 2026-10-06

Last updated on: 2026-10-19

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: IB/mlx4: Fix use-after-free on pkey sysfs registration failure register_pkey_tree() ignores errors from register_one_pkey_tree() and continues registering the remaining slaves. The per-slave error path has already released the pkey parent kobjects, but their pointers remain stored in the device. A later device cleanup therefore passes the stale pointers to kobject_put(), causing a use-after-free. Clear the parent pointers after releasing a failed slave tree and skip unregistered trees during device cleanup. This preserves the existing best-effort registration behavior while preventing a second cleanup of the failed tree.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-10-06

Last Modified

2026-10-19

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-06

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2026-98217

EUVD

EUVD-2026-93145

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	c1e7e466120b80ce49e91af0c9da1ce6dee4844a
Linux	Linux	3.7

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's InfiniBand mlx4 driver. It occurs when register_pkey_tree() fails to handle errors properly during pkey sysfs registration. The function continues registering remaining slaves even after a failure, which causes parent kobjects to be released prematurely. Their pointers remain stored in the device, leading to a later use-after-free when device cleanup passes these stale pointers to kobject_put().

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's mlx4 InfiniBand driver and requires kernel-level inspection. Detection involves checking for use-after-free errors in the pkey sysfs registration path. No direct network or system commands are provided in the context to detect this issue.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could cause system instability or crashes if exploited. It may lead to memory corruption, privilege escalation, or denial of service attacks on systems using the affected Linux kernel driver. Users running vulnerable systems should apply the provided patch to prevent potential exploitation.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards. It is a use-after-free issue in the Linux kernel's InfiniBand subsystem that could lead to system instability or crashes but does not involve data exposure or privacy violations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to the latest patched version to resolve the use-after-free issue in IB/mlx4 pkey sysfs registration.

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