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CVE-2026-98620
net: ethernet: mtk_eth_soc: unregister net_devices in case of probe failure
Published 2026-10-18 (today) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-98620 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 | fixed | 6.12.113-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
If register_netdev() fails for one of the MTK_MAX_DEVS devices in mtk_probe(), the error path jumps to err_deinit_ppe, skipping mtk_unreg_dev(). The previously registered net_devices are then freed by mtk_free_dev() while still in NETREG_REGISTERED state, hitting the BUG_ON(dev->reg_state != NETREG_UNREGISTERED). Route the register_netdev() failure to err_unreg_netdev so the net_devices registered so far are properly unregistered before being freed.
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.
drivers/net/ethernet/mediatek/mtk_eth_soc.c
- What this is
- MEDIATEK ETHERNET DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/ethernet/mediatek/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- mtk_eth
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_ETHERNET|CONFIG_NET_MEDIATEK_SOC|CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_MEDIATEK' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w mtk_ethPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian does not build this code in 1 release. It does build it in 3 releases, so the answer depends on which release the machine runs.
- bookwormn
- trixieMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- n
- not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_ETHERNET, CONFIG_NET_MEDIATEK_SOC, CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_MEDIATEK
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
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 kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-10-18 (today)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- not scored
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/net
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.9 | 6.6.158 | 245bea0c7ab2 |
| 4.9 | 6.12.112 | ab3bde3b3e56 |
| 4.9 | 6.18.55 | 7254b702e556 |
| 4.9 | 7.2.9 | 0fdb944d4df0 |
| 4.9 | 7.3 | 310d1ac61a4d |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-98620, 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.