CVE-2026-98965
What it is
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: Restore Ordered MMIO Writes for Tx Doorbells The DQL accounting state which tracks the number of bytes queued for the NIC to transmit, namely dql->num_queued, is updated by the ICE driver when it invokes __netdev_tx_sent_queue(). Subsequently the driver updates the hardware queue tail allowing the NIC to begin processing the work queue. The queue accounting update should be ordered before the NIC begins transmitting descriptors. The transmit path currently updates the hardware doorbell using writel_relaxed(), which (on arm64) does not provide the same ordering guarantees between writes to normal memory and writes to MMIO registers that writel() does. This introduces a potential race where the NIC begins transmitting descriptors before the dql->num_queued update is globally visible. If the NIC finishes before the update is observed by dql_completed(), it detects an invalid state where more bytes have been completed than have been queued. When this happens the following BUG_ON is triggered. BUG_ON(count > num_queued - dql->num_completed); This has been observed and manifests as the following crash (note that the trace has been trimmed) in an environment with sustained network load that uses an Intel Corporation Ethernet Controller E810-XXV for SFP (rev 02) on an arm64 machine. Replacing writel_relaxed() with writel() in a test kernel eliminated the crash in the user's workload, which previously reproduced the issue reliably. kernel BUG at lib/dynamic_queue_limits.c:99 Internal error: Oops - BUG: 00000000f2000800 [#1] SMP pc : dql_completed+0x268/0x2a0 lr : ice_clean_tx_irq+0x1d4/0x620 [ice] Call trace: dql_completed+0x268/0x2a0 (P) ice_napi_poll+0x94/0x520 [ice] __napi_poll+0x48/0x3f0 net_rx_action+0x194/0x420 This restores the behaviour prior to commit ccde82e90946 ("ice: add E830 Earliest TxTime First Offload support"), which changed the notification mechanism from writel() to writel_relaxed().
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of service disruption.
- Exploit odds
- 0.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Fix
- No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.
Timeline
- ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Why it ranks here
- Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
- Exploit odds: 0.5% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Severity: 7.5 HIGH (CVSS).
- Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.5% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Record status
- Received
Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 7.5
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-98965.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-98965. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
