{"api_version":"1","generated_at":"2026-10-21T18:42:59+00:00","cve":"CVE-2026-98563","urls":{"html":"https://cve.report/CVE-2026-98563","api":"https://cve.report/api/cve/CVE-2026-98563.json","docs":"https://cve.report/api","cve_org":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98563"},"summary":{"title":"net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail\n\nphylink_bringup_phy() stores the PHY in pl->phydev before its last\nfallible step: on a MAC whose phylink ops implement LPI,\nphy_eee_rx_clock_stop() can fail with a real MDIO error. The callers\nunwind with phy_detach(), which knows nothing about pl->phydev, so a\npointer to a PHY that is no longer attached outlives the failed\nconnect.\n\nWhat that costs depends on how the caller got here.\nphylink_connect_phy() goes through phylink_attach_phy(), which refuses\nto attach while pl->phydev is set, turning a transient MDIO error into\na permanent -EBUSY. The SFP path is worse than that: sfp_sm_probe_phy()\nanswers the failure with phy_device_remove() and phy_device_free(), and\nit assigns sfp->mod_phy only past that error return, so nothing clears\npl->phydev and it is left pointing at a freed phy_device that\nphylink_resolve() and the ethtool helpers go on reading.\nphylink_fwnode_phy_connect() has no such check, so a later connect\noverwrites the stale pointer and hides the problem. A disconnect does\nnot: phylink_disconnect_phy() hands that pointer to phy_disconnect(),\nand the second phy_detach() on the same PHY drops references the first\none already released.\n\nFound while making a DSA port survive a PHY whose driver arrives after\nthe switch probes: keeping the port across a failed connect and\nretrying is what makes this window reachable.\n\nPublish the pointer after the last call that can fail instead of\nunwinding it afterwards. Nothing between the two points reads\npl->phydev, and the registration that follows cannot fail:\nphy_request_interrupt() falls back to polling on its own. The PHY-side\nstate keeps the order it had, so no MDIO operation moves relative to\nanother.","state":"PUBLISHED","assigner":"Linux","published_at":"2026-10-18 16:17:08","updated_at":"2026-10-18 16:17:08"},"problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","name":"CVE Program record","refsource":"CVE.ORG","tags":["canonical"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98563","name":"NVD vulnerability detail","refsource":"NVD","tags":["canonical","analysis"]}],"affected":[{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f 4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f 671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 6.14","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.14 semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.18.55 6.18.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.2.9 7.2.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.3-rc5 * original_commit_for_fix","platforms":[]}],"timeline":[],"solutions":[],"workarounds":[],"exploits":[],"credits":[],"nvd_cpes":[],"vendor_comments":[],"enrichments":{"kev":null,"epss":null,"legacy_qids":[]},"source_records":{"cve_program":{"containers":{"cna":{"affected":[{"defaultStatus":"unaffected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["drivers/net/phy/phylink.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"lessThan":"4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4","status":"affected","version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef","status":"affected","version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8","status":"affected","version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","versionType":"git"}]},{"defaultStatus":"affected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["drivers/net/phy/phylink.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"6.14"},{"lessThan":"6.14","status":"unaffected","version":"0","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.18.55","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"7.2.*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.2.9","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.3-rc5","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"cpeMatch":[{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.55","versionStartIncluding":"6.14","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.2.9","versionStartIncluding":"6.14","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.3-rc5","versionStartIncluding":"6.14","vulnerable":true}],"negate":false,"operator":"OR"}]}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail\n\nphylink_bringup_phy() stores the PHY in pl->phydev before its last\nfallible step: on a MAC whose phylink ops implement LPI,\nphy_eee_rx_clock_stop() can fail with a real MDIO error. The callers\nunwind with phy_detach(), which knows nothing about pl->phydev, so a\npointer to a PHY that is no longer attached outlives the failed\nconnect.\n\nWhat that costs depends on how the caller got here.\nphylink_connect_phy() goes through phylink_attach_phy(), which refuses\nto attach while pl->phydev is set, turning a transient MDIO error into\na permanent -EBUSY. The SFP path is worse than that: sfp_sm_probe_phy()\nanswers the failure with phy_device_remove() and phy_device_free(), and\nit assigns sfp->mod_phy only past that error return, so nothing clears\npl->phydev and it is left pointing at a freed phy_device that\nphylink_resolve() and the ethtool helpers go on reading.\nphylink_fwnode_phy_connect() has no such check, so a later connect\noverwrites the stale pointer and hides the problem. A disconnect does\nnot: phylink_disconnect_phy() hands that pointer to phy_disconnect(),\nand the second phy_detach() on the same PHY drops references the first\none already released.\n\nFound while making a DSA port survive a PHY whose driver arrives after\nthe switch probes: keeping the port across a failed connect and\nretrying is what makes this window reachable.\n\nPublish the pointer after the last call that can fail instead of\nunwinding it afterwards. Nothing between the two points reads\npl->phydev, and the registration that follows cannot fail:\nphy_request_interrupt() falls back to polling on its own. The PHY-side\nstate keeps the order it had, so no MDIO operation moves relative to\nanother."}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-10-18T15:18:30.158Z","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux"},"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8"}],"title":"net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","assignerShortName":"Linux","cveId":"CVE-2026-98563","datePublished":"2026-10-18T15:18:30.158Z","dateReserved":"2026-09-25T10:25:14.357Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-18T15:18:30.158Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-10-18 16:17:08","lastModifiedDate":"2026-10-18 16:17:08","problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"98563","Ordinal":"1","Title":"net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail","CVE":"CVE-2026-98563","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"98563","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail\n\nphylink_bringup_phy() stores the PHY in pl->phydev before its last\nfallible step: on a MAC whose phylink ops implement LPI,\nphy_eee_rx_clock_stop() can fail with a real MDIO error. The callers\nunwind with phy_detach(), which knows nothing about pl->phydev, so a\npointer to a PHY that is no longer attached outlives the failed\nconnect.\n\nWhat that costs depends on how the caller got here.\nphylink_connect_phy() goes through phylink_attach_phy(), which refuses\nto attach while pl->phydev is set, turning a transient MDIO error into\na permanent -EBUSY. The SFP path is worse than that: sfp_sm_probe_phy()\nanswers the failure with phy_device_remove() and phy_device_free(), and\nit assigns sfp->mod_phy only past that error return, so nothing clears\npl->phydev and it is left pointing at a freed phy_device that\nphylink_resolve() and the ethtool helpers go on reading.\nphylink_fwnode_phy_connect() has no such check, so a later connect\noverwrites the stale pointer and hides the problem. A disconnect does\nnot: phylink_disconnect_phy() hands that pointer to phy_disconnect(),\nand the second phy_detach() on the same PHY drops references the first\none already released.\n\nFound while making a DSA port survive a PHY whose driver arrives after\nthe switch probes: keeping the port across a failed connect and\nretrying is what makes this window reachable.\n\nPublish the pointer after the last call that can fail instead of\nunwinding it afterwards. Nothing between the two points reads\npl->phydev, and the registration that follows cannot fail:\nphy_request_interrupt() falls back to polling on its own. The PHY-side\nstate keeps the order it had, so no MDIO operation moves relative to\nanother.","Type":"Description","Title":"net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail"}]}}}