Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 page_pool page_pool_recycle_ring_bulk use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5$5k-$25k0.00-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5 and classified as very critical. This affects the function page_pool_recycle_ring_bulk of the component page_pool. The manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-98804. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5. It has been classified as very critical. Affected is the function page_pool_recycle_ring_bulk of the component page_pool. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: page_pool: fix use-after-free in page_pool_recycle_ring_bulk() With CONFIG_PAGE_POOL_STATS=y, page_pool_recycle_ring_bulk() updates the recycle stats after dropping the producer lock. If it just recycled the last inflight netmems of a pool being destroyed, page_pool_release() can pass its producer-lock barrier and free the pool before recycle_stat_add() runs. Commit fcc680a647ba7 ("page_pool: allow mixing PPs within one bulk") moved this stat update after the unlock. Commit 271683bb2cf32 ("page_pool: Fix use-after-free in page_pool_recycle_in_ring") later added the barrier, but only fixed page_pool_recycle_in_ring(). Move the update back under the lock.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-98804 since 09/25/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or 7.3-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch f78d45d5f1ac4141a03f033141368671da4293e4/0b105f4eb78e5ee39e5a74c47c9efd69b6ac849c/bdea4980182e3badac74f04df6c07492b91c569e is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.56/7.2.10/7.3-rc6
Patch: f78d45d5f1ac4141a03f033141368671da4293e4/0b105f4eb78e5ee39e5a74c47c9efd69b6ac849c/bdea4980182e3badac74f04df6c07492b91c569e

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/18/2026 +23 days Advisory disclosed
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98804 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98804
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-422034

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 19:57
Changes: 10/18/2026 19:57 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!