{"id":"CVE-2026-98791","title":"kernel: net/mlx5e: Fix AF_XDP TX timestamp teardown NULL dereference (CVE-2026-98791)","summary":"A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Mellanox network driver (mlx5e). A local user can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service (DoS) through a system crash. During the teardown of an AF_XDP (eXpress Data Path) transmit qu…","severity":"medium","cvss":4.4,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","cvssSource":"vendor","cwe":"CWE-476","vendor":"Red Hat","product":"Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9","affected":["enterprise_linux 10","enterprise_linux 6","enterprise_linux 9","openshift_container_platform 4"],"published":"2026-10-18","updated":"2026-10-23","sourceUpdated":"2026-10-23T15:23:17+00:00","source":"CSAF","sourceUrl":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98791.json","references":[{"url":"https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98791.json"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98791"},{"url":"https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555060"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98791"},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98791"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98791.mbox"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fce70b6bf9f3261e887419a4e7caa25b80fa9d55"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f81d40e2eb69552334f510114f3e6edd0d43178b"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63df0ef4c6e3105589e6bb2e758ce611b0ada86c"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b97273cbebe9dd4fddc457f0c4f2a124d0e3996"}],"tags":["csaf","vex","red-hat","cve.org"],"epss":0.00168,"epssPercentile":0.06032,"ingestedAt":"2026-10-18T16:47:32.485Z","slug":"CVE-2026-98791","body":"## Overview\n\nA flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Mellanox network driver (mlx5e). A local user can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial of service (DoS) through a system crash. During the teardown of an AF_XDP (eXpress Data Path) transmit queue, outstanding descriptors requesting a transmit timestamp are completed without a completion queue entry, resulting in a NULL pointer dereference.\n\n## Vendor advisories\n\n- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98791.json)\n\n**kernel: net/mlx5e: Fix AF_XDP TX timestamp teardown NULL dereference** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.\n\nAffected:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4\n\nNo fix planned:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4\n\nNot affected:\n\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8\n- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9\n- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4\n\n## Remediation\n\nOut of support scope","depth":"sunlit","depthScore":24,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":24.2,"likelihood":0,"exploitation":0,"ransomware":0},"changes":[{"seq":228738,"id":"CVE-2026-98791","ts":1792844944791,"field":"cvss","old":null,"new":"4.4"},{"seq":228737,"id":"CVE-2026-98791","ts":1792844944791,"field":"severity","old":"none","new":"medium"}]}