Kernel warning via premature RDMA request publication
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
A reference-count race in Linux's iWARP port-mapper code allows attackers to trigger a kernel warning during concurrent RDMA netlink requests. The iwpm_get_nlmsg_request() function adds a request to a shared list before initializing its reference count and other fields, allowing another CPU to access the incomplete request and increment a zero count. The observed trigger used a local netlink send path; the public report demonstrates a refcount warning, not a reliable kernel crash or remote exploit.
Summary
What happened
A reference-count race in Linux's iWARP port-mapper code allows attackers to trigger a kernel warning during concurrent RDMA netlink requests. The iwpm_get_nlmsg_request() function adds a request to a shared list before initializing its reference count and other fields, allowing another CPU to access the incomplete request and increment a zero count. The observed trigger used a local netlink send path; the public report demonstrates a refcount warning, not a reliable kernel crash or remote exploit.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98252
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 6, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <117871cdb8927542abd7b65ce5995bf0265a8c05
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <2fbac8a56004b6ce54fbfe845d4b25da6e0b55e8
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <33fb59da49c4c3f5c2ec9f9d4447a56857a02c02
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <52c13c63bb3662c108244e7447055e30bf40244e
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <88e429a4e9bac3d2138011c5ca06254331f2587f
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <8a91609032d47e77bcb37bc8f6e88d89340d2709
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <ce8a379598bd4058081416abea4279fd05a95374
- Affected versionversion=30dc5e63d6a5ad24894b5512d10b228d73645a44 <e15eb536be4f646ce683d2867572b2200be877f7
- Affected versionversion=3.16
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
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