CVE-2026-98563
Microsoft — net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail
Microsoft · Not classified by connected sources
EVRS 0 of 100 Informational
Monitor
Rank 2,860 of 2,960 tracked
Why it scores 0
Evidence available: 2 of 8 signalsNo strong exploitation, disclosure, or severity signal is available for this CVE yet.
- CISA KEVDid not apply
- RansomwareNo data
- Vendor exploitationNo data
- EPSSDid not apply
- Microsoft Exploitability IndexNo data
- Pre-patch disclosureNo data
- KEV recencyNo data
- CVSSNo data
The band answers “how soon”, not “how bad”. No data for: Ransomware, Vendor exploitation, Microsoft Exploitability Index, Pre-patch disclosure, KEV recency, CVSS. Why some signals show no data
Fix
No fixed version identified yetAffected versions
Not identified by the connected sources
Remediation
NVD lists one or more references for this CVE that aren't tagged as a patch or vendor advisory. Review them directly to confirm patch availability and applicability before making a remediation decision.
Evidence
Each value with its source| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CVSS base scoreHow severe the flaw is in itself. It does not say how likely an attack is. | Not publishedNVD and the CVE record were checked and hold no score. | NVD |
| FIRST EPSSFIRST's estimate of the chance this is exploited in the next 30 days, and how that ranks against all CVEs. | 0.002 (9th pctl) | FIRST EPSS |
| Actively exploitedWhether a source of record has confirmed attacks using it in the wild. | Not confirmed | Patch Tuesday |
| Public exploit moduleA module existing is not the same as active exploitation. | None known | Metasploit |
| EUVD cross-referenceENISA's record: CVSS 0.0, assigned by Linux. | Listed | ENISA EUVD |
Description
NVDIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phylink: record the PHY only once bringup cannot fail phylink_bringup_phy() stores the PHY in pl->phydev before its last fallible step: on a MAC whose phylink ops implement LPI, phy_eee_rx_clock_stop() can fail with a real MDIO error. The callers unwind with phy_detach(), which knows nothing about pl->phydev, so a pointer to a PHY that is no longer attached outlives the failed connect. What that costs depends on how the caller got here. phylink_connect_phy() goes through phylink_attach_phy(), which refuses to attach while pl->phydev is set, turning a transient MDIO error into a permanent -EBUSY. The SFP path is worse than that: sfp_sm_probe_phy() answers the failure with phy_device_remove() and phy_device_free(), and it assigns sfp->mod_phy only past that error return, so nothing clears pl->phydev and it is left pointing at a freed phy_device that phylink_resolve() and the ethtool helpers go on reading. phylink_fwnode_phy_connect() has no such check, so a later connect overwrites the stale pointer and hides the problem. A disconnect does not: phylink_disconnect_phy() hands that pointer to phy_disconnect(), and the second phy_detach() on the same PHY drops references the first one already released. Found while making a DSA port survive a PHY whose driver arrives after the switch probes: keeping the port across a failed connect and retrying is what makes this window reachable. Publish the pointer after the last call that can fail instead of unwinding it afterwards. Nothing between the two points reads pl->phydev, and the registration that follows cannot fail: phy_request_interrupt() falls back to polling on its own. The PHY-side state keeps the order it had, so no MDIO operation moves relative to another.
