# CVE-2026-98803: net: stmmac: fix rx Scatter-Gather support

> A flaw in the Linux kernel stmmac driver allows remote attackers to cause memory corruption and denial of service via oversized network frames.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-108939, BELL-CVE-2026-98803, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98803, GHSA-p8jr-c4h2-2vmv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98803

## What is CVE-2026-98803?

CVE-2026-98803 is a memory corruption 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:

net: stmmac: fix rx Scatter-Gather support

When a received frame is larger than dma_buf_sz, the DMA scatters it
across multiple RX descriptors (rx Scatter-Gather). The secondary RX
buffer (sec_page) was only allocated and programmed when split-header
(SPH) was active, so for regular frames buffer2 was neither allocated
nor backed by a valid mapping. As soon as an incoming frame overflowed
buffer1, the DMA wrote the overflow into the unmapped secondary-buffer
address, triggering an SMMU translation fault on IOMMU-based platforms:

arm-smmu 15000000.iommu: Unhandled context fault: fsr=0x402, iova=0x00000000, fsynr=0x7f0011, cbfrsynra=0x1c90, cb=11
arm-smmu 15000000.iommu: FSR    = 00000402 [Format=2 TF], SID=0x1c90
arm-smmu 15000000.iommu: FSYNR0 = 007f0011 [S1CBNDX=127 WNR PLVL=1]

Enable scatter-gather for non-SPH frames on cores that can program an
independent secondary RX buffer (GMAC4/XGMAC): allocate and mark buffer2
as valid in stmmac_init_rx_buffers() and stmmac_rx_refill(), and account
for it in the buffer length computation. Legacy cores have no set_sec_addr
op, so they keep buffer2 disabled.

Since buffer2 is handed to the DMA at page offset 0, the page pool sync
window is widened to cover both buffers in every mode: offset is set to 0
and max_len to dma_buf_sz + stmmac_rx_offset().

The FCS can straddle the buffer1/buffer2 boundary and a descriptor
boundary, so it is now stripped from the tail of the assembled frame with
pskb_trim() instead of from a single buffer, avoiding an unsigned underflow
for frames that overflow a buffer by 1..3 bytes. For single-buffer frames
the XDP program must not see the FCS, so it is removed from the XDP buffer
before the program runs.

Native XDP currently only supports single-buffer (linear) frames. An
oversized frame accepted by the MAC (jumbo enabled) is received via
buffer2; the XDP program only sees buffer1, so on a TX/REDIRECT verdict
the frame is forwarded truncated. XDP multi-buffer support to handle
this case is planned as a follow-up.

AF_XDP zero-copy RX is not covered by this change: a ZC queue still
programs buffer2 at DMA address 0 (and XGMAC has no buffer2-valid bit),
so an oversized frame overflowing buffer1 can still trigger the same
SMMU translation fault. Handling is planned as a follow-up.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98803?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98803?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98803 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98803 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98803 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98803 is a memory corruption 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98803 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-2026-98803/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98803/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98803
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98803
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98803

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98803/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.