{"id":"CVE-2026-97973","title":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path\n\nmacb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,\nbut the probe unwind frees the…","summary":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path\n\nmacb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,\nbut the probe unwind frees the…","severity":"medium","cvss":5.5,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","cwe":["CWE-772"],"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","affected":["Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < 0112aa02c7847314be599d68783d50c7e228a694","Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < c1de1e7b51ab2531f564b39b51998c3d71caccd7","Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < 23b6a44ffea1c54a4232aa86ee470b21422a8cc5","Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < e92a45b872b035c79acde8dd0da096a72b61ff2f","Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < 8558e3195664113c14a4d8fcf221b3caff41fed1","Linux >= 7897b071ac3b45a5788d084fc7f8a8ee9e5f07f0 < 7d059f390750152b9bd69df934198651b94fc26d","Linux 5.5"],"published":"2026-09-25","updated":"2026-10-03","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-03T11:18:21.817","source":"NVD","sourceUrl":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97973","references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0112aa02c7847314be599d68783d50c7e228a694","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23b6a44ffea1c54a4232aa86ee470b21422a8cc5","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7d059f390750152b9bd69df934198651b94fc26d","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8558e3195664113c14a4d8fcf221b3caff41fed1","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1de1e7b51ab2531f564b39b51998c3d71caccd7","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e92a45b872b035c79acde8dd0da096a72b61ff2f","label":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"},{"url":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97973.json"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97973"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541088"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97973"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97973"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97973.mbox"}],"tags":["nvd","cve.org","csaf","vex","red-hat"],"epss":0.00173,"epssPercentile":0.06618,"cvssSource":"vendor","ingestedAt":"2026-09-25T11:06:38.871Z","slug":"CVE-2026-97973","body":"## Overview\n\nIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path\n\nmacb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,\nbut the probe unwind frees the netdev without destroying it, so a failing\nmacb_alloc_tieoff() or register_netdev() leaks the instance.\n\nDestroy it at err_out_unregister_mdio, which is only reachable once\nmacb_mii_init() has succeeded, so bp->phylink is valid there.\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.\n\n## Vendor advisories\n\n- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · updated 2026-09-30 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97973.json)","depth":"sunlit","depthScore":30,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":30.3,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[{"seq":213331,"id":"CVE-2026-97973","ts":1790754693258,"field":"cvss","old":null,"new":"5.5"},{"seq":213330,"id":"CVE-2026-97973","ts":1790754693258,"field":"severity","old":"none","new":"medium"}]}