# CVE-2026-46287: net: txgbe: fix RTNL assertion warning when remove module

> A missing lock in the txgbe network driver causes a kernel warning and potential instability when removing the module, requiring a patch.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-89655, BELL-CVE-2026-46287, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46287, GHSA-pqmq-qjcg-mw2v, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46287

## What is CVE-2026-46287?

CVE-2026-46287 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: txgbe: fix RTNL assertion warning when remove module

For the copper NIC with external PHY, the driver called
phylink_connect_phy() during probe and phylink_disconnect_phy() during
remove. It caused an RTNL assertion warning in phylink_disconnect_phy()
upon module remove.

To fix this, add rtnl_lock() and rtnl_unlock() around the
phylink_disconnect_phy() in remove function.

 ------------[ cut here ]------------
 RTNL: assertion failed at drivers/net/phy/phylink.c (2351)
 WARNING: drivers/net/phy/phylink.c:2351 at
phylink_disconnect_phy+0xd8/0xf0 [phylink], CPU#0: rmmod/4464
 Modules linked in: ...
 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 4464 Comm: rmmod Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.0.0-rc4+
 Hardware name: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-7E16/X670E GAMING
PLUS WIFI (MS-7E16), BIOS 1.90 12/31/2024
 RIP: 0010:phylink_disconnect_phy+0xe4/0xf0 [phylink]
 Code: 5b 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f 5d 31 c0 31 d2 31 f6 31 ff e9 3a 38 8f e7
48 8d 3d 48 87 e2 ff ba 2f 09 00 00 48 c7 c6 c1 22 24 c0 <67> 48 0f b9 3a
e9 34 ff ff ff 66 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
 RSP: 0018:ffffce7288363ac0 EFLAGS: 00010246
 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff89654b2a1a00 RCX: 0000000000000000
 RDX: 000000000000092f RSI: ffffffffc02422c1 RDI: ffffffffc0239020
 RBP: ffffce7288363ae8 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8964c4022000
 R13: ffff89654fce3028 R14: ffff89654ebb4000 R15: ffffffffc0226348
 FS:  0000795e80d93780(0000) GS:ffff896c52857000(0000)
knlGS:0000000000000000
 CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
 CR2: 00005b528b592000 CR3: 0000000170d0f000 CR4: 0000000000f50ef0
 PKRU: 55555554
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  txgbe_remove_phy+0xbb/0xd0 [txgbe]
  txgbe_remove+0x4c/0xb0 [txgbe]
  pci_device_remove+0x41/0xb0
  device_remove+0x43/0x80
  device_release_driver_internal+0x206/0x270
  driver_detach+0x4a/0xa0
  bus_remove_driver+0x83/0x120
  driver_unregister+0x2f/0x60
  pci_unregister_driver+0x40/0x90
  txgbe_driver_exit+0x10/0x850 [txgbe]
  __do_sys_delete_module.isra.0+0x1c3/0x2f0
  __x64_sys_delete_module+0x12/0x20
  x64_sys_call+0x20c3/0x2390
  do_syscall_64+0x11c/0x1500
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? do_syscall_64+0x15a/0x1500
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? do_fault+0x312/0x580
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? __handle_mm_fault+0x9d5/0x1040
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? count_memcg_events+0x101/0x1d0
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? handle_mm_fault+0x1e8/0x2f0
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? do_user_addr_fault+0x2f8/0x820
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? irqentry_exit+0xb2/0x600
  ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5
  ? exc_page_fault+0x92/0x1c0
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46287?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46287?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-46287 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46287 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-46287 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46287 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46287 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46287/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46287/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46287
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46287
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46287

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46287/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
