CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-98561

Low risk· EPSS 9%
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.20%

9th percentile - higher than 9% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the nfp driver dropped the XArray lock before taking a reference to the IPsec xfrm_state, allowing the delete path to erase the entry and drop the last reference. RX could then increment a zero refcount after the state was queued for destruction. The fix takes the reference before releasing the XArray lock.

Risk Assessment

Can lead to a use-after-free and potential kernel crash or arbitrary code execution. Affects systems using the nfp driver with active IPsec.

Recommendation

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing the nfp driver fix. If updating is not possible, consider limiting IPsec usage on nfp-backed interfaces.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfp: hold IPsec RX state under the XArray lock nfp_net_ipsec_rx() drops the XArray lock before taking a reference to the xfrm_state it found. The delete path can erase the entry and drop the last state reference in that interval. RX can then try to increment a zero refcount after the state has been queued for destruction. The driver queues firmware invalidation asynchronously; the delete path does not wait for the command to complete or drain pending RX processing. The XFRM garbage collector waits for an RCU grace period before freeing the state. That delays reclamation but does not make acquiring a reference from zero valid. Take the xfrm_state reference before releasing the XArray lock so xa_erase() cannot run between lookup and reference acquisition.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS