Ethernet Connection Vulnerability in Linux Kernel by Vendor

CVE-2026-99198

What is CVE-2026-99198?

A vulnerability was identified in the Linux Kernel affecting its ethernet operations, particularly during the initialization of PHY connections. The issue arises when the owl_emac_probe function invokes owl_emac_phy_init without properly assigning netdev->netdev_ops first. This oversight can potentially lead to a system crash due to a NULL pointer dereference, especially when CONFIG_NET_SHAPER is enabled. To mitigate this risk, it is crucial to assign netdev_ops prior to the PHY attach process, similar to the resolution implemented in previous patches.

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