VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98620: Linux kernel · net: ethernet: mtk_eth_soc: unregister net_devices in case of probe failure

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in ab3bde3b3e56331b4f53a1f6cf4e5e9d1c14c1a0 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 16:00 UTC

Severity

Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in ab3bde3b3e56331b4f53a1f6cf4e5e9d1c14c1a0, 7254b702e556158e34b4d7c168b5d8e7da5978af, 310d1ac61a4d5a2ca8356a3a48d263acf54503ce +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 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 ≥ 8a8a9e89f801ce5d3d1d57ac48db678caf072147, < ab3bde3b3e56331b4f53a1f6cf4e5e9d1c14c1a0	Fixed in ab3bde3b3e56331b4f53a1f6cf4e5e9d1c14c1a0
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8a8a9e89f801ce5d3d1d57ac48db678caf072147, < 7254b702e556158e34b4d7c168b5d8e7da5978af	Fixed in 7254b702e556158e34b4d7c168b5d8e7da5978af
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8a8a9e89f801ce5d3d1d57ac48db678caf072147, < 310d1ac61a4d5a2ca8356a3a48d263acf54503ce	Fixed in 310d1ac61a4d5a2ca8356a3a48d263acf54503ce
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8a8a9e89f801ce5d3d1d57ac48db678caf072147, < 245bea0c7ab278150c70366bdeb69b901327133c	Fixed in 245bea0c7ab278150c70366bdeb69b901327133c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8a8a9e89f801ce5d3d1d57ac48db678caf072147, < 0fdb944d4df02223c67d5e65c4c134ecb57a5668	Fixed in 0fdb944d4df02223c67d5e65c4c134ecb57a5668
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.9	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

A fix is available in the Linux kernel source code as indicated by the fixed commit versions. Users should update to a kernel version that includes these fixes to resolve the issue. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official patch.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's MediaTek Ethernet driver (mtk_eth_soc) was identified where net_devices were not properly unregistered upon probe failure. This caused a state inconsistency leading to a kernel BUG_ON condition. The issue was fixed by ensuring that registered net_devices are properly unregistered before being freed during error handling.

Impact

This vulnerability can cause a kernel crash (BUG_ON) due to improper cleanup of network device registrations during probe failure. This may lead to system instability or denial of service conditions on affected Linux kernel versions.

Summary

In the Linux kernel version 4.9, the MediaTek Ethernet driver (mtk_eth_soc) had a flaw in its probe error handling path. When register_netdev() failed for one of the MTK_MAX_DEVS devices during mtk_probe(), the error path skipped the call to mtk_unreg_dev(), leaving previously registered net_devices in the NETREG_REGISTERED state while they were freed by mtk_free_dev(). This triggered a BUG_ON check due to the reg_state mismatch. The fix routes the failure to err_unreg_netdev to ensure proper unregistration of net_devices before freeing, preventing the kernel crash.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 10:08 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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