---
id: "CVE-2026-98488"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98488"]
title: "Linux atl1e NIC driver: out-of-range hardware read causes soft lockup"
severity: "low"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["atheros-l1e-nic", "infrastructure", "kernel", "linux"]
not_affected_if: ["no-atl1e-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:16:59+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:25:44+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98488", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux atl1e NIC driver: out-of-range hardware read causes soft lockup

The atl1e Ethernet driver in the Linux kernel can spin forever when the network card reports an impossible transmit-ring index during a PCIe link or MAC reset. The result is a soft lockup that stalls the CPU, a denial of service rather than code execution.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the atl1e fix from this series; the exact fixed version is unknown from the sources.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98488

## From the sources

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

net: atl1e: fix soft lockup on out-of-range hw_next_to_clean read

Same issue as atl1c (see the first commit in this series, "net:
atl1c: fix soft lockup on out-of-range tpd_cons read"): the hardware
can report an out-of-range hw_next_to_clean (seen as 0xffff) while
the PCIe link/MAC is resetting. An out-of-range value can never be
reached and the loop below would spin forever. Treat it as "nothing
new to clean" instead.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_