{"schema":"threatline.record/2","record":{"id":"CVE-2026-98563","aliases":[],"summary":"net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail","details":"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.","categories":["Operating systems"],"product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","ecosystem":null,"affected_ranges":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","source_modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:45:31.882637Z","product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","lessThan":"4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","lessThan":"671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef","status":"affected","versionType":"git"},{"version":"03abf2a7c65451e663b078b0ed1bfa648cd9380f","lessThan":"a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8","status":"affected","versionType":"git"}],"defaultStatus":"unaffected"},{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","source_modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:45:31.882637Z","product":"Linux","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"version":"6.14","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","lessThan":"6.14","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.55","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2.9","lessThanOrEqual":"7.2.*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.3","lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"defaultStatus":"affected"}],"fixed_versions":[{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","source_modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:45:31.882637Z","package":{"name":"Linux","ecosystem":null},"version":"4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4","basis":"first unaffected version stated in the CVE record"},{"source":"CVE List","source_url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","source_modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:45:31.882637Z","package":{"name":"Linux","ecosystem":null},"version":"671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef","basis":"first unaffected version stated in the CVE record"}],"cvss":null,"severity":null,"kev":{"listed":false},"epss":{"probability":0.00198,"percentile":0.09047,"score_date":"2026-10-23"},"published_at":"2026-10-18T15:18:30.158Z","modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","provenance":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98563","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:45:31.882637Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z"},{"source":"EPSS","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98563","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T18:42:43.628194Z","source_modified_at":"2026-10-23"}],"sources":["CVE List","EPSS"],"references":[{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e7a4af364c2048bafb213bf0ef4a89dcbe1bfd4"},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/671a68654a9d319d7f0d53a6321db3d9b391bdef"},{"source":"CVE List","url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a940003f44e7e441c228151dd212642152700ec8"}],"locations":[],"motoko_assessment":{"status":"requires_architecture_review","automatic_remediation":false},"cve_state":"PUBLISHED","classification":{"method":"product-first software-layer rules","rules_version":"2.1","matched_on":"product","confidence":"heuristic","reviewed":false},"change_timestamp":"2026-10-19T09:21:47.748Z","content_hash":"ce912be1f168b0e3edba1fee2a95eca5b16293023c4ad8a36cb0557c99d1d34e"}}