CVE-2026-98796

Denial of service via premature interface registration

Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026

An initialization race in Linux mtk_eth_soc allows attackers to interrupt networking by opening an interface during driver probing. mtk_probe() registers interfaces before creating eth->dummy_dev and initializing shared NAPI, exposing incomplete state to the first-open path. The race requires affected MediaTek hardware and an interface opening during that window; NETSYS v2 and later fail the open with -ENODEV, while NETSYS v1 dereferences a NULL napi->dev.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An initialization race in Linux mtk_eth_soc allows attackers to interrupt networking by opening an interface during driver probing. mtk_probe() registers interfaces before creating eth->dummy_dev and initializing shared NAPI, exposing incomplete state to the first-open path. The race requires affected MediaTek hardware and an interface opening during that window; NETSYS v2 and later fail the open with -ENODEV, while NETSYS v1 dereferences a NULL napi->dev.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-98796
Published
Oct 18, 2026
Updated
Oct 18, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.6
  2. Affected versionversion=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <17eafd74de5a31e30361420a2e3ebf64186b77e5
  3. Affected versionversion=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <42001839e425b2564b7297be579073a13a8fddf6
  4. Affected versionversion=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <6f0c2c4f5e7143eba75153ecc8af3a03f7b6a98b
  5. Affected versionversion=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <82be3d08de9e14d5aed72377f051adb4f09fd540

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.6; version=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <17eafd74de5a31e30361420a2e3ebf64186b77e5; version=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <42001839e425b2564b7297be579073a13a8fddf6; version=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <6f0c2c4f5e7143eba75153ecc8af3a03f7b6a98b; version=656e705243fd0c2864b89634ea16ed444ef64dc6 <82be3d08de9e14d5aed72377f051adb4f09fd540

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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