---
id: "CVE-2026-98498"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98498"]
title: "Linux kernel: mlx5 connection-tracking counter leaks a reference on lookup"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["infrastructure", "linux-kernel", "mlx5", "nvidia-connectx", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["no-mlx5-hardware", "offload-disabled"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:00+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:25:34+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98498", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: mlx5 connection-tracking counter leaks a reference on lookup

In the Linux kernel's mlx5 network driver, a shared connection-tracking counter lookup fails to drop a reference when the counter is already being released, so the reverse entry is never freed. The sources describe a resource leak, and they do not say whether an attacker can exploit it to run code or read data.

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

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- unknown

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98498

## From the sources

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

net/mlx5: Fix rev_entry reference leak in mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get()

When the reverse entry is found but its counter is already being
released, refcount_inc_not_zero() fails and the reference taken by
mlx5_tc_ct_entry_get() is never dropped before falling through to
create_counter.  Drop it so the reverse entry is not kept alive forever
by a shared counter lookup that did not use it.

---

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