CVE-2026-98619
Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test An offline self test that brings the interface down and back up with netif_close() / netif_open() requires rtnl_lock for both. Since the ethtool IOCTL path became rtnl-optional for ops-locked drivers, the ETHTOOL_TEST ioctl runs holding only the netdev instance lock, so on an ops-locked driver the self test now tears the device down without rtnl_lock. With lockdep this reproduces deterministically on every offline self test on such a driver; note the sole lock held is the instance lock, not rtnl: WARNING: suspicious RCU usage net/core/netpoll.c:207 suspicious rcu_dereference_protected() usage! 1 lock held by ethtool/107: #0: (&dev->lock){+.+.}, at: dev_ethtool Call Trace: netpoll_poll_disable __dev_close_many netif_close_many netif_close fbnic_self_test dev_ethtool_locked dev_ethtool dev_ioctl sock_ioctl __x64_sys_ioctl Without lockdep the same condition trips ASSERT_RTNL() in __dev_close_many() / __dev_open(); that check only samples the global rtnl state, so it can be masked by a concurrent rtnl holder, but the device is still being reconfigured without the lock it requires. The ethtool self_test is a legacy ioctl-only command, so an ETHTOOL_TEST case is only needed on the ioctl path. Add an opt-in bit for drivers whose self test needs rtnl_lock and set it on the ops-locked drivers whose offline self test tears the interface down and up: - fbnic (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): fbnic_self_test() offline path uses netif_close() / netif_open(). - bnxt (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): bnxt_self_test() offline path goes through bnxt_close_nic() / bnxt_half_open_nic() / bnxt_half_close_nic() / bnxt_open_nic(), which close and reopen the device.
View original CVE JSON
{
"id": "CVE-2026-98619",
"sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"published": "2026-10-18T16:17:14.787",
"lastModified": "2026-10-19T10:19:26.000",
"vulnStatus": "Received",
"cveTags": [],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test\n\nAn offline self test that brings the interface down and back up with\nnetif_close() / netif_open() requires rtnl_lock for both. Since the\nethtool IOCTL path became rtnl-optional for ops-locked drivers, the\nETHTOOL_TEST ioctl runs holding only the netdev instance lock, so on an\nops-locked driver the self test now tears the device down without\nrtnl_lock.\n\nWith lockdep this reproduces deterministically on every offline self\ntest on such a driver; note the sole lock held is the instance lock, not\nrtnl:\n\n WARNING: suspicious RCU usage\n net/core/netpoll.c:207 suspicious rcu_dereference_protected() usage!\n 1 lock held by ethtool/107:\n #0: (&dev->lock){+.+.}, at: dev_ethtool\n Call Trace:\n netpoll_poll_disable\n __dev_close_many\n netif_close_many\n netif_close\n fbnic_self_test\n dev_ethtool_locked\n dev_ethtool\n dev_ioctl\n sock_ioctl\n __x64_sys_ioctl\n\nWithout lockdep the same condition trips ASSERT_RTNL() in\n__dev_close_many() / __dev_open(); that check only samples the global\nrtnl state, so it can be masked by a concurrent rtnl holder, but the\ndevice is still being reconfigured without the lock it requires.\n\nThe ethtool self_test is a legacy ioctl-only command, so an ETHTOOL_TEST\ncase is only needed on the ioctl path. Add an opt-in bit for drivers whose\nself test needs rtnl_lock and set it on the ops-locked drivers whose\noffline self test tears the interface down and up:\n\n - fbnic (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): fbnic_self_test() offline path\n uses netif_close() / netif_open().\n - bnxt (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): bnxt_self_test() offline path\n goes through bnxt_close_nic() / bnxt_half_open_nic() /\n bnxt_half_close_nic() / bnxt_open_nic(), which close and reopen the\n device."
}
],
"affected": [
{
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"affectedData": [
{
"vendor": "Linux",
"product": "Linux",
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnxt/bnxt_ethtool.c",
"drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_ethtool.c",
"include/linux/ethtool.h",
"net/ethtool/common.h"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"versions": [
{
"version": "f994752b11273ded7ec6b49ae5c1d319eef21743",
"lessThan": "4ca1503491f1f25a954c13ac5775bf6775c5abc8",
"versionType": "git",
"status": "affected"
},
{
"version": "f994752b11273ded7ec6b49ae5c1d319eef21743",
"lessThan": "1b82958f3f035df5ccaab5430a2302f08a5d5351",
"versionType": "git",
"status": "affected"
}
]
},
{
"vendor": "Linux",
"product": "Linux",
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnxt/bnxt_ethtool.c",
"drivers/net/ethernet/meta/fbnic/fbnic_ethtool.c",
"include/linux/ethtool.h",
"net/ethtool/common.h"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"versions": [
{
"version": "7.2",
"status": "affected"
},
{
"version": "0",
"lessThan": "7.2",
"versionType": "semver",
"status": "unaffected"
},
{
"version": "7.2.9",
"lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*",
"versionType": "semver",
"status": "unaffected"
},
{
"version": "7.3",
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix",
"status": "unaffected"
}
]
}
]
}
],
"metrics": {},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1b82958f3f035df5ccaab5430a2302f08a5d5351",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4ca1503491f1f25a954c13ac5775bf6775c5abc8",
"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
}
]
}