{"id":"CVE-2026-98620","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-98620"],"related":[],"title":"Linux kernel: MediaTek Ethernet probe failure can crash the kernel","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: ethernet: mtk_eth_soc: unregister net_devices in case of probe failure\n\nIf register_netdev() fails for one of the MTK_MAX_DEVS devices in\nmtk_probe(), the error path jumps to err_deinit_ppe, skipping\nmtk_unreg_dev(). The previously registered net_devices are then freed by\nmtk_free_dev() while still in NETREG_REGISTERED state, hitting the\nBUG_ON(dev->reg_state != NETREG_UNREGISTERED).\n\nRoute the register_netdev() failure to err_unreg_netdev so the net_devices\nregistered so far are properly unregistered before being freed.","summary":"When registering one of several MediaTek Ethernet devices fails during probe, the driver frees devices still marked as registered, which trips a kernel BUG check. The sources describe a kernel crash on a failed probe path, not code execution.","severity":"unknown","cvss":null,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["embedded","infrastructure","linux-kernel","mediatek-hardware","routers"],"not_affected_if":["no-mediatek-ethernet","x86-servers"],"how_to_check":"- unknown","fix":"- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream fix for mtk_eth_soc probe error handling; the sources do not name a version.","status":"open","published_at":"2026-10-18T16:17:14+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-25T05:21:15+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-25T05:21:15+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.5,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-25T05:21:15Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream fix for mtk_eth_soc probe error handling; the sources do not name a version.","reach":"local","title":"Linux kernel: MediaTek Ethernet probe failure can crash the kernel","impact":"low","summary":"When registering one of several MediaTek Ethernet devices fails during probe, the driver frees devices still marked as registered, which trips a kernel BUG check. The sources describe a kernel crash on a failed probe path, not code execution.","category":"infrastructure","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["linux-kernel","mediatek-hardware","embedded","routers"],"confidence":0.5,"needs_auth":"unknown","worst_case":"kernel crash during a failed device probe","analyst_note":"","how_to_check":"- unknown","needs_analyst":false,"not_affected_if":["no-mediatek-ethernet","x86-servers"],"who_is_affected":"Systems running a Linux kernel with the MediaTek mtk_eth_soc Ethernet driver, typically MediaTek-based boards and routers, where multiple devices are probed. Systems without MediaTek Ethernet hardware do not load this driver and can skip it. The sources do not say whether a normal boot is ever hit, since the bug needs a register_netdev() failure.","user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"yes","severity_if_unknown":"low"},"cost_usd":0.000591,"input_tokens":3459,"output_tokens":490,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2026':12A,15A '-98620':13A,16A 'bug':49B,135C 'case':84C 'check':50B 'code':63B 'crash':8A,56B 'cve':11A,14A 'deinit':109C 'describ':53B 'dev':98C,114C,126C,137C 'devic':33B,40B,82C,99C,119C,154C 'driver':38B 'embed':17B 'err':108C,148C 'error':104C 'eth':78C 'ethernet':4A,32B,76C 'execut':64B 'fail':34B,59B,91C 'failur':6A,87C,146C 'far':157C 'follow':70C 'free':39B,125C 'freed':122C,163C 'hardwar':24B 'hit':133C 'infrastructur':18B 'jump':106C 'kernel':2A,10A,21B,48B,55B,68C 'linux':1A,20B,67C 'linux-kernel':19B 'mark':42B 'max':97C 'mediatek':3A,23B,31B 'mediatek-hardwar':22B 'mtk':77C,96C,101C,112C,124C 'net':75C,81C,118C,153C 'netdev':90C,145C,150C 'netreg':130C,140C 'one':28B,93C 'path':61B,105C 'ppe':110C 'previous':116C 'probe':5A,36B,60B,86C,102C 'proper':159C 'reg':138C 'regist':27B,44B,89C,117C,131C,144C,155C 'resolv':74C 'rout':142C 'router':25B 'sever':30B 'skip':111C 'soc':79C 'sourc':52B 'state':132C,139C 'still':41B,128C 'trip':46B 'unreg':113C,149C 'unregist':80C,141C,160C 'vulner':71C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Systems running a Linux kernel with the MediaTek mtk_eth_soc Ethernet driver, typically MediaTek-based boards and routers, where multiple devices are probed. Systems without MediaTek Ethernet hardware do not load this driver and can skip it. The sources do not say whether a normal boot is ever hit, since the bug needs a register_netdev() failure.","tier":"C","verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2026-10-18T16:17:14+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":null,"cvss_by":null,"poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-98620","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98620","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-10-18T16:17:14+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-19T10:19:26+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T22:28:56+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}