Memory loss via untracked DMA-buffer cleanup
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
DMA-buffer leaks in the Linux macb driver cause kernel memory loss on allocation-error paths; attacker control is unspecified. macb_alloc() calls macb_free() before recording allocated buffers in bp->queues[0], leaving transmit or receive buffers unreachable by cleanup. The affected driver must encounter a receive allocation failure or a DMA buffer crossing a 4 GiB boundary; no attacker-controlled trigger or resulting crash is documented.
Summary
What happened
DMA-buffer leaks in the Linux macb driver cause kernel memory loss on allocation-error paths; attacker control is unspecified. macb_alloc() calls macb_free() before recording allocated buffers in bp->queues[0], leaving transmit or receive buffers unreachable by cleanup. The affected driver must encounter a receive allocation failure or a DMA buffer crossing a 4 GiB boundary; no attacker-controlled trigger or resulting crash is documented.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98492
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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=6.17.3 <6.18
- Affected versionversion=6.18
- Affected versionversion=78d901897b3cae06b38f54e48a2378cf9da21175 <23d42b9a3bcd55b17d3b371544fedc708c2397e9
- Affected versionversion=78d901897b3cae06b38f54e48a2378cf9da21175 <259e6cbb6a097da8ced544ee92a6fbde35aa1338
- Affected versionversion=78d901897b3cae06b38f54e48a2378cf9da21175 <bda487567d0b7b15dfa876511085c0666b9efad5
- Affected versionversion=982a4d9a2e12b693f684eff943043a607628d871
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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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
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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