VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98953: Linux kernel · devlink: fix devlink_rel reference leak when notify work is pending

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98953

Not known to be exploited · fixed in dc2e787b5fb474241c8a6d18fdacb44adc6d571f : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · 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 dc2e787b5fb474241c8a6d18fdacb44adc6d571f, c5381ae1cd1481cc431c2bd79460472c6f1d3ce3, 8de57bfec3825effb57fe4d25da98ec3b8fda4c6 +1

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 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.

ghsa-5648-x8rm-28p3

What to do

Upgrade Linux kernel to dc2e787b5fb474241c8a6d18fdacb44adc6d571f, c5381ae1cd1481cc431c2bd79460472c6f1d3ce3, 8de57bfec3825effb57fe4d25da98ec3b8fda4c6 or 8c7830e0120e6e1f5084212fd5b79b3092496f87.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8, < dc2e787b5fb474241c8a6d18fdacb44adc6d571f	Fixed in dc2e787b5fb474241c8a6d18fdacb44adc6d571f
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8, < c5381ae1cd1481cc431c2bd79460472c6f1d3ce3	Fixed in c5381ae1cd1481cc431c2bd79460472c6f1d3ce3
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8, < 8de57bfec3825effb57fe4d25da98ec3b8fda4c6	Fixed in 8de57bfec3825effb57fe4d25da98ec3b8fda4c6
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ c137743bce02b18c1537d4681aa515f7b80bf0a8, < 8c7830e0120e6e1f5084212fd5b79b3092496f87	Fixed in 8c7830e0120e6e1f5084212fd5b79b3092496f87
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.7	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to properly drop the extra reference when notify work is already pending, preventing the reference leak. Users should update to the fixed kernel version once available. Since this is a kernel-level issue, applying the official kernel patch or upgrading to a patched kernel release is the recommended remediation.

Description

A reference leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's devlink component has been resolved. The issue occurs when notify work is pending and the devlink_rel reference is not properly released, leading to a memory leak. This can happen when nested devlink instances are registered and unregistered repeatedly while the parent lock is held. The vulnerability allows leaking of devlink_rel objects due to improper handling of work scheduling and reference counting.

Impact

The impact is a resource leak (memory leak) of devlink_rel objects in the Linux kernel, which could lead to increased memory consumption and potential stability issues over time. There is no indication of direct code execution or privilege escalation from this vulnerability. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

Summary

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel's devlink subsystem involves a reference leak in devlink_rel objects when notify work is pending. The function devlink_rel_nested_in_notify_work_schedule() takes a reference on the devlink_rel and queues delayed work without checking if the work was already pending. If the work is already queued, it runs only once and drops one reference, causing an extra reference to leak. This leak is triggered by registering and unregistering nested devlink instances multiple times while holding the parent devlink lock. Additionally, the reschedule path in devlink_rel_nested_in_notify_work() suffers from the same reference leak issue. The fix involves dropping the extra reference when the work is already pending, ensuring proper reference management.

References

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