---
id: "CVE-2026-98571"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98571"]
title: "Linux kernel stmmac driver reuses a recycled RX page after failure"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["embedded", "linux-kernel", "package", "stmmac"]
not_affected_if: []
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:09+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:23:13+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98571", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel stmmac driver reuses a recycled RX page after failure

When the stmmac Ethernet driver fails to build an sk_buff on receive, it returns the page to the page pool but keeps a pointer to it, so the refill step can hand the same page back to the hardware. The sources do not describe a confirmed exploit or what an attacker can read or write through this.

_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 upstream commit clearing buf->page in stmmac_rx() (version not given in the sources).

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98571

## From the sources

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

net: stmmac: clear stale buf->page after recycling on skb build failure

In stmmac_rx(), when napi_build_skb() fails the descriptor page is
recycled back to the page pool with page_pool_recycle_direct(), but
buf->page is left pointing at the recycled page, unlike every other
consumption site in the function which clears the pointer after handing
the page away.

With the stale pointer stmmac_rx_refill() skips the replacement
allocation and programs the already-recycled page back into the RX
descriptor.

Clear buf->page on the napi_build_skb() failure path to keep the buffer
lifecycle consistent with the other consumption sites.

---

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