# CVE-2026-98381: veth: manage XDP program pointers during channel resize

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel veth driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash or potentially execute code during channel resizing.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 9 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-106910, BELL-CVE-2026-98381, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98381, GHSA-82qv-gm43-p9vj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98381

## What is CVE-2026-98381?

CVE-2026-98381 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 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:

veth: manage XDP program pointers during channel resize

veth_set_channels() tears down XDP resources for removed RX queues
without clearing rq->xdp_prog.  If the program is then detached or
replaced, those queues keep the old pointer after bpf_prog_put().
A later channel increase can re-enable NAPI and run the freed program.

  BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffc90000256048
  Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI
  RIP: veth_xdp_rcv_skb (include/linux/filter.h:779
                         include/net/xdp.h:696 drivers/net/veth.c:820)
  Call Trace:
   veth_xdp_rcv (drivers/net/veth.c:941)
   veth_poll (drivers/net/veth.c:986)
   __napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:7787)
   net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7850 net/core/dev.c:8007)
   handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:645)
  Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98381?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98381?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98381 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98381 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98381 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98381 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 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-2026-98381 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-2026-98381/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98381/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98381
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98381
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98381

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98381/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.