CVE-2026-98913: net: thunderx: fix PTP device ref leak in nicvf_probe()
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: thunderx: fix PTP device ref leak in nicvfprobe()
caviumptpget() acquires a reference to the PTP PCI device through pcigetdevice(). If any initialization step fails after caviumptpget(), the PTP PCI device reference is leaked. Add a common error path to release the PTP reference before returning from probe failures.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
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azurelinux/kernelto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 6.6.159.1-1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-hwe-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscv-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-ibmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oem-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1015.16 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscvto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1 - Compensating control
In net: thunderx nicvf_probe(), add a common error path that releases the PTP PCI device reference acquired by cavium_ptp_get() before returning from probe failures, including failures of any initialization step after cavium_ptp_get().
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
When can the reference leak occur?
It can occur when nicvf_probe() obtains a PTP PCI device reference through cavium_ptp_get() and a later initialization step fails. The affected path is therefore a NIC probe failure after PTP-device acquisition.
What is the mitigation if an updated kernel cannot be deployed immediately?
The provided information identifies the leak only on probe error paths; it does not specify a configuration workaround. Use a kernel containing the referenced stable fixes when available.