---
id: CVE-2026-80993
title: 'net: phylink: correctly validate returned PCS in phylink_inband_caps'
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net: phylink: correctly validate returned PCS in phylink_inband_caps

  In phylink_inband_caps(), the PCS returned by mac_select_pcs is only
  checked if NULL but mac_selec…
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'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 <
    b6b533f83461c3730875cf3ed5ff6362dcb67be9
  - >-
    Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 <
    fb4d77553841ae85bed9b2cf03351c401e871d85
  - >-
    Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 <
    f2849b1fd059ec9b3281b771e6ac5aad9feee851
  - Linux 6.14
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-10-19'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-19T08:46:17.653Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80993'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6b533f83461c3730875cf3ed5ff6362dcb67be9'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb4d77553841ae85bed9b2cf03351c401e871d85'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f2849b1fd059ec9b3281b771e6ac5aad9feee851'
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80993.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-80993'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532314'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80993'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80993'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80993.mbox
tags:
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00206
epssPercentile: 0.1064
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T00:35:28.531Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: phylink: correctly validate returned PCS in phylink_inband_caps

In phylink_inband_caps(), the PCS returned by mac_select_pcs is only
checked if NULL but mac_select_pcs can also return an error pointer.

This can cause a kernel panic as phylink_pcs_inband_caps() only checks
if passed PCS is not NULL and directly dereference ops from the phylink_pcs
struct.

Use the IS_ERR_OR_NULL macro to address both case where the returned
PCS can be NULL or an error pointer and prevent a kernel panic.

## Affected

- `Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 < b6b533f83461c3730875cf3ed5ff6362dcb67be9`
- `Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 < fb4d77553841ae85bed9b2cf03351c401e871d85`
- `Linux >= df874f9e52c340cc6f0a0014a97b778f67d46849 < f2849b1fd059ec9b3281b771e6ac5aad9feee851`
- `Linux 6.14`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-80993.json)