Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4 mlx5 mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get memory leak

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.
7.2	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get of the component mlx5. This manipulation causes memory leak. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-98498. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.3-rc4. Affected by this vulnerability is the function mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get of the component mlx5. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix rev_entry reference leak in mlx5_tc_ct_shared_counter_get() When the reverse entry is found but its counter is already being released, refcount_inc_not_zero() fails and the reference taken by mlx5_tc_ct_entry_get() is never dropped before falling through to create_counter. Drop it so the reverse entry is not kept alive forever by a shared counter lookup that did not use it.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-98498 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 598daa5f95883f881a54967da40ce0fdfc1fdaa8/79a3257280a335bbebbcd10d3895e8468bdcd6ae/c45c997d0c27359b502587897f775c5a277f0bd4/288721013605b4e0304e10f6a087b77f71cfad11/60eab87d0a798070bf5a856b1d9e5785ce92da53/99d8dc51663747078c031acac32edc6d90c8f1f7/1f13989a0704bd98cab09f9bee63e2c8a98ad4dd/0bf6bb567f0edaa771e7dd208ef98da50e6a4485 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.270
• 5.15.221
• 6.1.188
• 6.6.157
• 6.12.111
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 6.18.53
• 6.18.54
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.2

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.271/5.15.222/6.1.189/6.6.158/6.12.112/6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5
Patch: 598daa5f95883f881a54967da40ce0fdfc1fdaa8/79a3257280a335bbebbcd10d3895e8468bdcd6ae/c45c997d0c27359b502587897f775c5a277f0bd4/288721013605b4e0304e10f6a087b77f71cfad11/60eab87d0a798070bf5a856b1d9e5785ce92da53/99d8dc51663747078c031acac32edc6d90c8f1f7/1f13989a0704bd98cab09f9bee63e2c8a98ad4dd/0bf6bb567f0edaa771e7dd208ef98da50e6a4485

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-2026-98498 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98498
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-422191

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 20:56
Changes: 10/18/2026 20:56 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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