VulnerabilityPublished 23 Oct 2026

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

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

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

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC

Severity

Unrated

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.

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–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: fix devlink_rel reference leak when notify work is pending devlink_rel_nested_in_notify_work_schedule() takes a reference on the devlink_rel for the notify work and then queues the work, ignoring the return value of schedule_delayed_work(). If the work is already pending, nothing new is queued, the work runs only once and drops only one reference, so the extra one is leaked together with the devlink_rel and its index in devlink_rels. This is easy to hit. devl_register() of a nested instance queues the work, and if the instance is unregistered before the work has run, devlink_rel_put() queues it again while it is still pending. The work also keeps rescheduling itself for as long as the parent devlink lock cannot be taken, which widens the window. Registering and unregistering a nested devlink instance 100 times while holding the parent lock leaks all 100 devlink_rel objects. The reschedule path in devlink_rel_nested_in_notify_work() has the same problem: if the work was queued again while it was running, the reference it holds is never dropped. Drop the reference in both places when the work was already pending. The pending work holds its own reference, so this can not be the last one.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…