---
id: CVE-2026-97973
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path

  macb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,
  but the probe unwind frees the…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path

  macb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,
  but 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'
---

## Overview

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

net: macb: destroy the phylink instance on the probe error path

macb_mii_init() creates a phylink instance on both of its success paths,
but the probe unwind frees the netdev without destroying it, so a failing
macb_alloc_tieoff() or register_netdev() leaks the instance.

Destroy it at err_out_unregister_mdio, which is only reachable once
macb_mii_init() has succeeded, so bp->phylink is valid there.

## Remediation

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

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · updated 2026-09-30 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97973.json)