# CVE-2026-98285: net: bridge: vlan: fix bugs caused by switchdev deletion errors

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel bridge VLAN code can cause a system crash when switchdev deletion errors occur.

- **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:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-106155, BELL-CVE-2026-98285, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98285, GHSA-9v49-jvp7-mg86, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98285

## What is CVE-2026-98285?

CVE-2026-98285 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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: bridge: vlan: fix bugs caused by switchdev deletion errors

Allowing switchdev to prevent vlan deletion and error out in __vlan_del
could cause multiple different issues - inconsistent state, memory leaks
when flushing, NULL pointer dereference on bridge error when flushing.
It doesn't make sense to allow it to stop __vlan_del, so log the error
and continue with software vlan deletion. This is also consistent with
8021q behaviour.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98285?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98285?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98285 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98285 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98285 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98285 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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-2026-98285 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-2026-98285/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98285/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98285
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98285
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98285

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98285/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.