Bug 2554994 (CVE-2026-98619) - CVE-2026-98619 kernel: net: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test
Summary: CVE-2026-98619 kernel: net: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test
Keywords:
Status: NEW
Alias: CVE-2026-98619
Product: Security Response
Classification: Other
Component: vulnerability
Version: unspecified
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
medium
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Product Security DevOps Team
QA Contact:
URL:
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2026-10-18 15:38 UTC by OSIDB Bzimport
Modified: 2026-10-21 09:56 UTC (History)
17 users (show)

Fixed In Version:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-10-18 15:38:01 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test

An offline self test that brings the interface down and back up with
netif_close() / netif_open() requires rtnl_lock for both. Since the
ethtool IOCTL path became rtnl-optional for ops-locked drivers, the
ETHTOOL_TEST ioctl runs holding only the netdev instance lock, so on an
ops-locked driver the self test now tears the device down without
rtnl_lock.

With lockdep this reproduces deterministically on every offline self
test on such a driver; note the sole lock held is the instance lock, not
rtnl:

  WARNING: suspicious RCU usage
  net/core/netpoll.c:207 suspicious rcu_dereference_protected() usage!
  1 lock held by ethtool/107:
   #0: (&dev->lock){+.+.}, at: dev_ethtool
  Call Trace:
   netpoll_poll_disable
   __dev_close_many
   netif_close_many
   netif_close
   fbnic_self_test
   dev_ethtool_locked
   dev_ethtool
   dev_ioctl
   sock_ioctl
   __x64_sys_ioctl

Without lockdep the same condition trips ASSERT_RTNL() in
__dev_close_many() / __dev_open(); that check only samples the global
rtnl state, so it can be masked by a concurrent rtnl holder, but the
device is still being reconfigured without the lock it requires.

The ethtool self_test is a legacy ioctl-only command, so an ETHTOOL_TEST
case is only needed on the ioctl path. Add an opt-in bit for drivers whose
self test needs rtnl_lock and set it on the ops-locked drivers whose
offline self test tears the interface down and up:

  - fbnic (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): fbnic_self_test() offline path
    uses netif_close() / netif_open().
  - bnxt (ops-locked via queue_mgmt_ops): bnxt_self_test() offline path
    goes through bnxt_close_nic() / bnxt_half_open_nic() /
    bnxt_half_close_nic() / bnxt_open_nic(), which close and reopen the
    device.


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