kernel: pfcp: fix socket lifetime on netdevice registration failure (CVE-2026-98849)

Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP) driver. When creating a PFCP network interface, a failure during device registration triggers error handling that attempts to release an internal network socket twice. This improper cleanup results in a null pointer dereference, allowing a local user with network administration privileges to crash the system and cause a Denial of Service (DoS).

Vendor advisories

• Red Hat VEX · Moderate · updated 2026-10-23 · vex

kernel: pfcp: fix socket lifetime on netdevice registration failure — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Not affected:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
• Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Remediation

Refer to the advisory for fix availability.