---
id: CVE-2026-97981
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work

  The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame.
  Error paths keep consuming descriptor…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work

  The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame.
  Error paths keep consuming descriptor…
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-770
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    620b7184808b25cf58268856f892b9ba83c181fd
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    9620e2ce9b5998ebbf157241f296f8ddb92285c2
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    27b5753077d1cfda5fe201d2ba602de76a9a09b1
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    e858b9b1ea3cbbc353189d07dec40dc16967e290
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    58140f1cebb776d174dc6ff41c15401654a5b1ea
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    cceb6cd7f0e5ed2944a9ca22443d7b9da82f60ab
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    5754e0c0758805096ecfeaf4c1b146ad51ed246f
  - >-
    Linux >= 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88 <
    b856c552f556bc0341c1dbe0bf88e630fd1dc4b7
  - Linux 4.16
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-10-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-03T11:18:22.150'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97981'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27b5753077d1cfda5fe201d2ba602de76a9a09b1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5754e0c0758805096ecfeaf4c1b146ad51ed246f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58140f1cebb776d174dc6ff41c15401654a5b1ea'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/620b7184808b25cf58268856f892b9ba83c181fd'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9620e2ce9b5998ebbf157241f296f8ddb92285c2'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b856c552f556bc0341c1dbe0bf88e630fd1dc4b7'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cceb6cd7f0e5ed2944a9ca22443d7b9da82f60ab'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e858b9b1ea3cbbc353189d07dec40dc16967e290'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97981.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97981'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541184'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97981'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97981'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97981.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00176
epssPercentile: 0.07122
cvssSource: vendor
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.868Z'
---

## Overview

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

net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work

The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame.
Error paths keep consuming descriptors without reducing the budget, so a
stream of bad frames can process the entire receive ring in one poll.

Move the budget accounting to a common end-of-frame path. This counts
each completed frame as NAPI work whether it was delivered or dropped,
matching the behavior of the vendor driver.

## 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-2026-97981.json)