# CVE-2026-97956: net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in net_failover_slave_name_change()

> A local attacker with high privileges can trigger a deadlock in the Linux kernel net_failover module, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-97956, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97956, GHSA-hv7q-v3g3-m28x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97956

## What is CVE-2026-97956?

CVE-2026-97956 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in net_failover_slave_name_change()

This is a sibling fix of commit
b84c5632c7b3 ("net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in slave register").
There is netdev_lock_ops() in the upper callers, so using netif_open()
instead of dev_open().

Call Trace:
 __schedule+0x2bb/0x650
 schedule+0x27/0xb0
 schedule_preempt_disabled+0x15/0x30
 __mutex_lock.constprop.0+0x550/0xaf0
 __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x13/0x20
 mutex_lock+0x3b/0x50
 dev_open+0x3b/0xe0
 net_failover_slave_name_change+0x22/0x40
 failover_event+0xd4/0x1e0
 notifier_call_chain+0x62/0xf0
 raw_notifier_call_chain+0x16/0x30
 call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0x50/0x80
 netif_change_name+0x200/0x330
 do_setlink.isra.0+0xb12/0xdf0
 ? security_capable+0x9a/0x1e0
 ? ns_capable+0x31/0x60
 rtnl_setlink+0x302/0x670
 ? netlink_recvmsg+0x296/0x340
 ? security_capable+0x9a/0x1e0
 ? __pfx_rtnl_setlink+0x10/0x10
 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x384/0x460
 ? __pfx_rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x61/0x120
 rtnetlink_rcv+0x15/0x30
 netlink_unicast+0x28f/0x3c0
 netlink_sendmsg+0x216/0x450
 __sys_sendto+0x222/0x230
 __x64_sys_sendto+0x24/0x40
 x64_sys_call+0x1d5d/0x2390
 do_syscall_64+0x105/0x5a0
 ? do_syscall_64+0x140/0x5a0
 ? exc_page_fault+0x94/0x1e0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97956?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97956?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97956 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97956 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97956 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97956 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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-2026-97956 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-97956/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97956/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97956
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97956
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97956

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97956/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.