---
id: CVE-2026-98558
title: 'kernel: net: flush skb_defer_nodes in dev_cpu_dead() (CVE-2026-98558)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's networking subsystem. When a central
  processing unit (CPU) is taken offline, pending network packet buffers held in
  deferred processing queues are not properly flushed. A privileged local user
  or admi…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-459
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: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T02:05:55+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98558.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98558.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98558'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554963'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98558'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98558'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98558.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c68f4157463448a76893223e117170be8374d773'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e3f54e8b22040ada01a28343badf1990b4dd7d'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00189
epssPercentile: 0.0847
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.261Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's networking subsystem. When a central processing unit (CPU) is taken offline, pending network packet buffers held in deferred processing queues are not properly flushed. A privileged local user or administrative action offlining a CPU during network device teardown can cause the kernel to stall indefinitely while waiting for memory pages to be returned, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **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 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98558.json)

**kernel: net: flush skb_defer_nodes in dev_cpu_dead()** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

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

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope