# CVE-2026-98128: scsi: mpi3mr: Fix target device refcount leak in mpi3mr_sas_port_add()

> A refcount leak in the mpi3mr SCSI driver prevents device structure release, potentially leading to memory exhaustion and denial of service.

- **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:** Not needed
- **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:** AZL-104706, BELL-CVE-2026-98128, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98128, GHSA-66fg-4xh5-8jcx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98128

## What is CVE-2026-98128?

CVE-2026-98128 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, 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:

scsi: mpi3mr: Fix target device refcount leak in mpi3mr_sas_port_add()

mpi3mr_get_tgtdev_by_addr() increments the target device kref when it
returns a device. If a subsequent error triggers a goto out_fail after
the tgtdev reference is acquired, the reference is never released
because the out_fail path does not call mpi3mr_tgtdev_put(). This
prevents the target device structure from ever being freed.

Add a tgtdev put in the out_fail path, guarded by a NULL check since
tgtdev is only acquired for SAS_END_DEVICE types and the same cleanup
path is shared by earlier error cases where tgtdev is still NULL.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98128?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-98128?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98128 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98128 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-2026-98128 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98128 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, 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-2026-98128 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-2026-98128/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98128/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98128
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98128
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98128

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98128/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.