CVE-2026-98480 nfc: trf7970a: power down on startup RX gain failure
A resource leak in the Linux kernel NFC driver can cause a denial of service if hardware initialization fails, requiring a kernel patch.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-98480?
CVE-2026-98480 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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:
nfc: trf7970a: power down on startup RX gain failure
trf7970a_startup() powers up the device before applying the optional RX gain reduction. If the register read or write fails, it returns without undoing that power-up. Probe's unwind only drops the separate regulator references acquired by probe, leaving the additional VIN enable from startup unbalanced. The system resume caller also has no power-down on this error.
Call trf7970a_power_down() before returning the RX gain error to deassert the enable GPIOs, release the startup VIN reference and restore the powered-off state. Runtime PM has not been enabled yet, so the full shutdown helper is not appropriate here. Preserve the original SPI error.
This issue was identified during our ongoing static-analysis research while reviewing kernel code.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98480?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98480?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2026-98480 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98480 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-98480, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98480, GHSA-h99h-422h-66fh, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98480.