VulnerabilityPublished 9 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98380: Linux kernel · net/sched: reject IDR error pointers when deleting actions

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in dd80a7519824b72c8fcfd3cc50cb93f7e2d90923 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in dd80a7519824b72c8fcfd3cc50cb93f7e2d90923, c82b797abe668d0b668601a93ba2c0b071a63574, a9551f26287debe6d8aa6e8841974661065b975f +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 9 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < dd80a7519824b72c8fcfd3cc50cb93f7e2d90923	Fixed in dd80a7519824b72c8fcfd3cc50cb93f7e2d90923
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < c82b797abe668d0b668601a93ba2c0b071a63574	Fixed in c82b797abe668d0b668601a93ba2c0b071a63574
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < a9551f26287debe6d8aa6e8841974661065b975f	Fixed in a9551f26287debe6d8aa6e8841974661065b975f
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < 968550a439f64bd1a6c0d88efb92e4f082f84a26	Fixed in 968550a439f64bd1a6c0d88efb92e4f082f84a26
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < 259caa711b7688365676442e2fdb286b8aceaa80	Fixed in 259caa711b7688365676442e2fdb286b8aceaa80
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 0190c1d452a91c38a3462abdd81752be1b9006a8, < 39b751a210bf61a374afa82749afc7a77a08bf1d	Fixed in 39b751a210bf61a374afa82749afc7a77a08bf1d

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in multiple Linux kernel commits as listed in the established facts. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes these fixes to remediate the vulnerability.

Description

CVE-2026-98380 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's network scheduler (net/sched) subsystem where error pointers are not properly rejected when deleting actions. This flaw allows a race condition where an unlocked classifier can replace an action with an error pointer, leading to a null pointer dereference and kernel panic. The issue has been fixed in specific Linux kernel commits.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability can cause a kernel panic due to a null pointer dereference in the network scheduler subsystem, leading to denial of service on affected Linux systems. There is no indication of privilege escalation or code execution from the provided data.

Summary

The vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's net/sched component during action deletion. The function tcf_action_delete() drops a reference before calling tcf_idr_delete_index() with the saved action index. Between these calls, an unlocked classifier can remove the action and reserve the same IDR slot with an ERR_PTR(-EBUSY). Since tcf_idr_delete_index() only checks for NULL and not error pointers, it treats the reservation as a valid action and dereferences an invalid pointer, causing a kernel panic. The fix involves rejecting error pointers and returning -ENOENT instead, preventing the null pointer dereference and panic.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 11:34 UTC

Technical details

References

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