CVE-2026-98498

Description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mlx5 network driver. When handling shared connection tracking counters, the driver fails to properly release an entry's reference count if the associated counter is in the process of being released. This reference count leak prevents the reverse entry from being freed, which can cause resource exhaustion and lead to a Denial of Service (DoS).

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 HatNVDcve.org
Base Score2.5N/AN/A
Attack VectorLocalN/AN/A
Attack ComplexityHighN/AN/A
Privileges RequiredLowN/AN/A
User InteractionNoneN/AN/A
ScopeUnchangedN/AN/A
ConfidentialityNoneN/AN/A
Integrity ImpactNoneN/AN/A
Availability ImpactLowN/AN/A

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

CWE-911

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)

If an adversary can prevent a reference count from reaching zero, then resources might not be released when they are supposed to, thus causing resources to become scarce for future needs.

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

If an adversary can cause a reference count to reach zero when the resource is still in use, then a resource might be released before it is supposed to be, possibly forcing an error that causes the product to crash or exit out of its current operation.

Frequently Asked Questions

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