Networking hang via recursive netdev lock acquisition
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Deadlock in Linux 6.15 allows local users to hang a networking operation by renaming a net_failover slave through rtnetlink. The net_failover_slave_name_change() callback calls dev_open() while an upper rtnetlink path already holds netdev_lock_ops(), causing recursive mutex acquisition. Reaching the flaw requires permission to rename a net_failover slave interface, and the demonstrated consequence is a blocked kernel networking path rather than data access or code execution.
Summary
What happened
Deadlock in Linux 6.15 allows local users to hang a networking operation by renaming a net_failover slave through rtnetlink. The net_failover_slave_name_change() callback calls dev_open() while an upper rtnetlink path already holds netdev_lock_ops(), causing recursive mutex acquisition. Reaching the flaw requires permission to rename a net_failover slave interface, and the demonstrated consequence is a blocked kernel networking path rather than data access or code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97956
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.15
- Affected versionversion=7e4d784f5810bba76c4593791028e13cce4af547 <4b20e66d2e52d3628db4dccc1a33f134e73375d5
- Affected versionversion=7e4d784f5810bba76c4593791028e13cce4af547 <985a663bf00799c1daf1c5789efa6406958780c8
- Affected versionversion=7e4d784f5810bba76c4593791028e13cce4af547 <c49bfa2c5dbd89f7683c26fc08b11e7369ea11e5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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