CVE-2026-98571: net: stmmac: clear stale buf->page after recycling on skb build failure

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-10-18 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: stmmac: clear stale buf->page after recycling on skb build failure In stmmac_rx(), when napi_build_skb() fails the descriptor page is recycled back to the page pool with page_pool_recycle_direct(), but buf->page is left pointing at the recycled page, unlike every other consumption site in the function which clears the pointer after handing the page away. With the stale pointer stmmac_rx_refill() skips the replacement allocation and programs the already-recycled page back into the RX descriptor. Clear buf->page on the napi_build_skb() failure path to keep the buffer lifecycle consistent with the other consumption sites.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.14 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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