In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ethtool: check device is present when getting link settings
A sysfs reader can race with a device reset or removal, attempting to
read device state when the device is not actually present. eg:
[exception RIP: qed_get_current_link+17]
#8 [ffffb9e4f2907c48] qede_get_link_ksettings at ffffffffc07a994a [qede]
#9 [ffffb9e4f2907cd8] __rh_call_get_link_ksettings at ffffffff992b01a3
#10 [ffffb9e4f2907d38] __ethtool_get_link_ksettings at ffffffff992b04e4
#11 [ffffb9e4f2907d90] duplex_show at ffffffff99260300
#12 [ffffb9e4f2907e38] dev_attr_show at ffffffff9905a01c
#13 [ffffb9e4f2907e50] sysfs_kf_seq_show at ffffffff98e0145b
#14 [ffffb9e4f2907e68] seq_read at ffffffff98d902e3
#15 [ffffb9e4f2907ec8] vfs_read at ffffffff98d657d1
#16 [ffffb9e4f2907f00] ksys_read at ffffffff98d65c3f
#17 [ffffb9e4f2907f38] do_syscall_64 at ffffffff98a052fb
crash> struct net_device.state ffff9a9d21336000
state = 5,
state 5 is __LINK_STATE_START (0b1) and __LINK_STATE_NOCARRIER (0b100).
The device is not present, note lack of __LINK_STATE_PRESENT (0b10).
This is the same sort of panic as observed in commit 4224cfd7fb65
("net-sysfs: add check for netdevice being present to speed_show").
There are many other callers of __ethtool_get_link_ksettings() which
don't have a device presence check.
Move this check into ethtool to protect all callers.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (4.7): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 4.7 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 4.7 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it