CVE-2026-97981
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame. Error paths keep consuming descriptors without reducing the budget, so a stream of bad frames can process the entire receive ring in one poll. Move the budget accounting to a common end-of-frame path. This counts each completed frame as NAPI work whether it was delivered or dropped, matching the behavior of the vendor driver.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.16
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.271,
5.15.222,
6.1.189,
6.6.158,
6.12.111,
6.18.53,
7.2.7,
7.3-rc3
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-97981?
CVE-2026-97981 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.16 onward and has been patched in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. CVE-2026-97981 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-97981?
Yes. CVE-2026-97981 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-97981 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-97981 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.