---
id: "CVE-2026-98618"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98618"]
title: "Linux kernel: fbnic driver NULL dereference with maximum standalone channels"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["fbnic", "linux-kernel", "network-driver", "package"]
not_affected_if: ["default-config", "no-fbnic-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:14+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:21:17+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98618", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: fbnic driver NULL dereference with maximum standalone channels

In the Linux kernel's fbnic network driver, a 64-Tx/64-Rx standalone channel configuration allocates only 64 NAPI vectors while recording 128, leaving NULL entries that resource setup dereferences. The sources describe a crash path; they do not describe code execution or data access.

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

## How to check

- unknown

## Fix

- Move to a kernel build that includes the upstream fix titled 'eth: fbnic: Handle maximum standalone channels' (exact version not given in the sources)

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98618

## From the sources

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

eth: fbnic: Handle maximum standalone channels

Standalone channels use one NAPI vector for each Tx and Rx queue.
fbnic's allocation path excludes FBNIC_MAX_TXQS from that layout. A
64-Tx/64-Rx configuration therefore records 128 vectors but allocates
only 64, leaving NULL entries that resource setup dereferences.

Include the maximum vector count in standalone allocation.

---

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