---
id: "CVE-2026-98494"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98494"]
title: "Linux kernel atl1 driver: soft lockup on out-of-range hardware read"
severity: "low"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["atl1", "ethernet-driver", "infrastructure", "linux-kernel"]
not_affected_if: ["no-atl1-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:00+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:25:38+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98494", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel atl1 driver: soft lockup on out-of-range hardware read

The atl1 Ethernet driver in the Linux kernel can spin forever in a loop when the hardware reports an out-of-range transmit-cleanup index during a PCIe link or MAC reset. The fix treats such a value as nothing new to clean, so the kernel no longer hangs.

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

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98494

## From the sources

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

net: atl1: fix soft lockup on out-of-range cmb_tpd_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 cmb_tpd_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_