CVE-2026-98496

Published Oct 18, 2026

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: airoha: npu: cancel wdt_work after releasing the WDT IRQ airoha_npu_remove() calls cancel_work_sync() on each core's wdt_work, but the watchdog IRQ that queues it is requested with devm_request_irq() and is freed only after .remove() returns. airoha_npu_wdt_handler() can therefore schedule_work() again once the cancel has returned. struct airoha_npu, which contains the work, is devm_kzalloc()'d and is freed in that same unwind, so the late work dereferences freed memory. Register the work with devm_work_autocancel() before devm_request_irq() and drop .remove(). Devres runs in reverse order, so the IRQ is freed before cancel_work_sync(), including when probe fails. A cancel left in .remove() cannot get that order. Initializing the work first also stops a pending watchdog interrupt from queuing an uninitialized work item. Probe currently calls INIT_WORK() only after devm_request_irq(). This issue was identified during our ongoing static-analysis research while reviewing kernel code.

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References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98496? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: airoha: npu: cancel wdt_work after releasing the WDT IRQ airoha_npu_remove() calls cancel_work_sync() on each core's wdt_work, but the watchdog IRQ that queues it is requested with devm_request_irq() and is freed only after .remove() returns. airoha_npu_wdt_handler() can therefore schedule_work() again once the cancel has returned. struct airoha_npu, which contains the work, is devm_kzalloc()'d and is freed in that same unwind, so the late work dereferences freed memory. Register the work with devm_work_autocancel() before devm_request_irq() and drop .remove(). Devres runs in reverse order, so the IRQ is freed before cancel_work_sync(), including when probe fails. A cancel left in .remove() cannot get that order. Initializing the work first also stops a pending watchdog interrupt from queuing an uninitialized work item. Probe currently calls INIT_WORK() only after devm_request_irq(). This issue was identified during our ongoing static-analysis research while reviewing kernel code.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-98496? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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