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CVE-2026-98610

Linux: net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.21%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 10% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in30d7fea767e830bd81ac2f73d2e33c877cb2e679Also 2bd20245dd658789d8cccb37697967b4caba6ad8, 0fa25ba50a382d79c0cf060214c2095756836f5f and 2 moreCVE List
Published18 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 30d7fea767e830bd81ac2f73d2e33c877cb2e679LinuxCVE List
  • 2bd20245dd658789d8cccb37697967b4caba6ad8LinuxCVE List
  • 0fa25ba50a382d79c0cf060214c2095756836f5fLinuxCVE List
  • 1301a1292c6742b4c96a18715d49f89c3caca0d7LinuxCVE List
  • 8a60ade2277e1f0e0d0578d565354e52292fa46dLinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget

hfsc_classify() applies the "filter may only point downwards" level check only when the filter result carries no bound class. A filter created with a flowid gets res.class set once at bind time, so the check never runs for it during classification. hfsc_adjust_levels() can later raise a class's level without revalidating existing bindings, leaving two binds that were each legal at bind time pointing at each other; the classify walk then bounces between two interior classes forever with the qdisc lock held and BH disabled — a soft lockup from a single packet. The stuck walk trips the watchdog:

watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 13s! [ping:444] RIP: 0010:u32_classify+0x542/0x17f0 ... tcf_classify+0x66/0xa0 hfsc_enqueue+0x166/0xdf0

Bound the traversal with a budget of non-descending hops, the only way a configured walk can move without descending the class tree once levels drift after bind time. The budget is cumulative over the whole walk and is deliberately not reset on a descending hop: a chain that alternates a descent with a lateral hop would return the budget every lap and never trip. Descending hops never decrement it, so legitimately deep trees are unaffected and a terminating lateral chain still classifies normally. Drop the packet with a rate-limited warning once the budget is exhausted, mirroring the merged HTB fix.

This is a follow-up to commit 729c4896ab82 ("net/sched: sch_htb: limit htb_classify inner-class filter hops"), which bounded the same classify loop on the HTB side but left the HFSC walk unbounded.

Conditions to recreate the bug:

  • CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_SCH_HFSC, CONFIG_NET_CLS_U32,

CONFIG_LOCKUP_DETECTOR.

  • Build a cycle with two legal-at-bind-time flowid binds and a level

drift: class X 1:1 (child of root) with leaf child 1:10; class Y 1:2 (sibling of X) with children 1:20 and 1:200; root u32 filter flowid 1:1; filter on X flowid 1:2 (legal when Y is a leaf); after Y's level rises to 2, filter on Y flowid 1:1 (legal then). Send one packet (ping on the device). Unfixed kernel: classify spins with the qdisc lock held; with softlockup_panic=1 it panics.

  • Reachable from unprivileged user via unshare -Urn (CAP_NET_ADMIN).

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 18

  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before d4fd251e3311727c32af89344d3332f788c153a2CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before 30d7fea767e830bd81ac2f73d2e33c877cb2e679CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before f476fb656ca2326d7b2eba98d03ced1cbcf5cd99CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before e8f9979286f70dfbfe0552e2a63000950841bea6CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before 2bd20245dd658789d8cccb37697967b4caba6ad8CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before 0fa25ba50a382d79c0cf060214c2095756836f5fCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before 1301a1292c6742b4c96a18715d49f89c3caca0d7CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a2f79227138c71e08627af5f8961197364edbc98 before 8a60ade2277e1f0e0d0578d565354e52292fa46dCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 2.6.35CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 2.6.35CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 5.10.271 through 5.10.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 5.15.222 through 5.15.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.1.189 through 6.1.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.6.158 through 6.6.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.112 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.55 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2.9 through 7.2.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.3CVE List

References 8