CVE-2026-98016
Received Received - Intake

Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel's mlx5e Driver

Publication date: 2026-09-25

Last updated on: 2026-09-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Fix use-after-free race in sample_restore_put() Concurrent teardown of TC sample rules sharing the same restore context may re-read restore->count after dropping restore_lock. At that point another thread may already have completed cleanup and freed the restore object. Use the result of the refcount decrement while holding restore_lock to determine whether cleanup is needed.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-25
Last Modified
2026-09-25
Generated
2026-09-25
AI Q&A
2026-09-25
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-98016
EUVD
EUVD-2026-86669

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a use-after-free race condition in the Linux kernel's mlx5e driver. It occurs during the teardown of TC sample rules that share the same restore context. The issue arises when concurrent operations may re-read a counter after dropping a lock, allowing another thread to free the restore object before cleanup completes.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could lead to system crashes or unexpected behavior due to memory corruption. If exploited, it may cause denial-of-service conditions or privilege escalation in systems using the affected Linux kernel component.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to the latest patched version to resolve the use-after-free race condition in the mlx5e driver.

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