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CVE-2026-97901
genetlink: pin family module during policy dump
Published 2026-09-25 (24 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/netlink. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-97901 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | vulnerable | 6.1.190-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6568-1 · 2026-10-16 · text | 6.12.113-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6568-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-16, in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
The generic netlink controller's policy dump keeps pointers to the target family's operation and policy tables in its callback state. A dump may be split across multiple skbs and remain pending after the initial request. Netlink pins the module which owns the dump callback, but in this case that is the controller's owner rather than the target family's owner. The target family can consequently be unregistered and its module unloaded while a policy dump is pending. Advancing the dump then dereferences policy memory from the unloaded module. Take a reference to the target family's module when the dump starts. Drop it from the error and done paths. This matches the lifetime for which the dump context retains the family and policy pointers.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
net/netlink/genetlink.c
- What this is
- NETWORKING [GENERAL]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this code. Every release below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sidy
- y
- built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-09-25 (24 days ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.20%, higher than 9.2% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/netlink
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.8 | 6.12.112 | 6e4d746e55c8 |
| 5.8 | 6.18.53 | 508387ad95ef |
| 5.8 | 7.2.7 | 6d8e653fcf1c |
| 5.8 | 7.3 | 6a1094c34d17 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSA-6568-1 | 2026-10-16 | trixie 6.12.113-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-97901, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.