CVE-2026-98275
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Cortina Ethernet driver. This flaw may result in a Denial of Service (DoS) when a network receive buffer overrun occurs. Due to an incorrect bit calculation, the interrupt service routine acknowledges the wrong register bit, leaving the overrun interrupt uncleared. An attacker capable of sending high volumes of network traffic could trigger this flaw, potentially causing an interrupt storm that leads to system degradation or unresponsiveness.
Statement
Red Hat rates this vulnerability as Important because an unauthenticated remote attacker could induce an uncleared interrupt loop under high network load, resulting in a complete host denial of service. In typical Red Hat enterprise environments, the affected Cortina Gemini network driver is not required, as standard server installations run on general-purpose enterprise hardware architectures. Exploitation requires the system to be equipped with and actively running the specific Cortina network interface controller, limiting real-world exposure across standard Red Hat deployments.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Amplification
An infinite loop will cause unexpected consumption of resources, such as CPU cycles or memory. The software's operation may slow down, or cause a long time to respond.
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