CVE-2026-74691 — net: thunderbolt: Tear down DMA paths before stopping the rings
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: thunderbolt: Tear down DMA paths before stopping the rings tbnet_tear_down() stops both rings and frees their frame buffers before calling tb_xdomain_disable_paths(). tb_ring_stop() zeroes the ring's descriptor base and tbnet_free_buffers() unmaps and frees the pages the frames sit in, so by the time __tb_path_deactivate_hop() polls the hop's 'pending' bit, anything still in flight has nowhere to drain to. The teardown sequence has been in this order since the driver was added. The setup path has not: commit ff7cd07f3064 ("net: thunderbolt: Enable DMA paths only after rings are enabled") moved the path enable to the end of tbnet_connected_work() and documented why: /* Both logins successful so enable the rings, high-speed DMA * paths and start the network device queue. * * Note we enable the DMA paths last to make sure we have primed * the Rx ring before any incoming packets are allowed to * arrive. */ Teardown was never updated to match, so the rings and the paths now come down in the same order they go up instead of in reverse. On an ASMedia ASM4242 host router the 'pending' bit then never clears: every teardown burns the full 500 ms timeout and __tb_path_deactivate_hop() returns -ETIMEDOUT. Raising the timeout to 5 s does not help, so the hop is not slow to drain, it never drains at all. The failure is invisible above the thunderbolt core. __tb_path_deactivate_hops() is void and only calls tb_port_warn(); tb_path_deactivate(), tb_tunnel_deactivate() and __tb_disconnect_xdomain_paths() are void as well, and tb_disconnect_xdomain_paths() ends in an unconditional "return 0". So tb_xdomain_disable_paths() reports success and the netdev_warn() below it never fires. Repeated teardowns eventually take the XDomain control channel down, after which the peer node is gone and only a power cycle brings the controller back. Deactivating the paths first fixes it. Measured with kretprobes on a stock v6.17 tree with no other patches applied, on a link that was up and had just carried traffic: before: __tb_path_deactivate_hop() returns 0 for the first hop, then -ETIMEDOUT for the second 500335 us later after: 0 for both, 525 us apart Alternating the two orderings ABBA over three load levels, four teardowns per arm: every teardown failed before the change (21 of 21 that ran), none failed after (0 of 24). The before arms ran short because the link died partway through. The same split shows up when the interface is enslaved to a bond instead of just brought down, which is how I ran into this in the first place. Throughput and latency after the change are unchanged. Hosts whose routers drain the hop despite the stale descriptor base see no functional difference, since the paths end up deactivated either way.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | ≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 7cce39109206bc5497e0953806563644b88bfc44≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 0da9a6d27155ad072dd76db8cd637feead99a0e0≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < b5a21615f627c48dafaa6ef82a34a5b97a4352aa≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 103a9b663ac1cacb8465aeff18f84a247154a562≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 4dd71cb0d23d40cb58fe4261c7bd183dca66caa0≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 9a482b2b117e5fa656b6d24fc01799e8ac2d4368≥ e69b6c02b4c3b8d03be7136f90dd9551ad5a5a5e and < 68bf02b6b4ad3f748c6db71fd77b6c0402d252f4version 4.15 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 2.8 | 5.9 | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 8.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 0.26%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Not enough vector or weakness data: use the affected application’s logs as a starting point.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · linux/linux
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 8.8
- Source status changed · → Received
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
References
9 on the record
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74691
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/103a9b663ac1cacb8465aeff18f84a247154a562
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0da9a6d27155ad072dd76db8cd637feead99a0e0
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7cce39109206bc5497e0953806563644b88bfc44
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-m57c-v73h-37p6
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a482b2b117e5fa656b6d24fc01799e8ac2d4368
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/68bf02b6b4ad3f748c6db71fd77b6c0402d252f4
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5a21615f627c48dafaa6ef82a34a5b97a4352aa
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4dd71cb0d23d40cb58fe4261c7bd183dca66caa0
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 2d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No CWE classification.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-74691 is "net: thunderbolt: Tear down DMA paths before stopping the rings", rated High. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.26% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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