---
id: "CVE-2026-98911"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98911"]
title: "Linux kernel: dpaa2-switch error path frees wrong buffer type on receive"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: 0.00215
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["embedded", "linux-kernel", "nxp-dpaa2", "runtime"]
not_affected_if: ["driver-not-loaded", "no-dpaa2-hardware"]
published_at: "2026-10-23T12:18:25+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98911", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98911", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: dpaa2-switch error path frees wrong buffer type on receive

In the Linux kernel's dpaa2-switch driver, an error during frame receive calls a free routine meant for transmit descriptors, freeing memory incorrectly. The sources do not describe a confirmed attacker outcome beyond memory handling being wrong on an error path.

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

## How to check

- Check the running kernel version with `uname -r` and compare it against the fixed kernel release in the NVD entry.
- Check whether the dpaa2-switch driver is loaded with `lsmod | grep dpaa2_switch`.

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream fix for dpaa2-switch dpaa2_switch_rx(); the fixed version is unknown from the sources.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98911
- 2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98911

## From the sources

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

dpaa2-switch: fix the error path in dpaa2_switch_rx()

In case of an error in dpaa2_switch_rx(), the dpaa2_switch_free_fd()
function is called in order to free the FD. This is incorrect since the
dpaa2_switch_free_fd() is intended to be used on Tx frame descriptors,
meaning that it expects in the software annotation area of the FD data
to find a valid skb pointer on which to call dev_kfree_skb().

Fix this by extracting the dma_unmap_page() from
dpaa2_switch_build_linear_skb() directly into the dpaa2_switch_rx()
function. This allows us to directly use free_pages() in case of an
error before an SKB was created and kfree_skb() afterwards.

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