CVE-2026-98020: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pds_core: fix cmd_regs access racing BAR unmap on reset pdsc_reset_prepare() and pdsc

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pds_core: fix cmd_regs access racing BAR unmap on reset pdsc_reset_prepare() and pdsc_rese

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pds_core: fix cmd_regs access racing BAR unmap on reset pdsc_reset_prepare() and pdsc_reset_done()'s pdsc_map_bars() error path clear/iounmap cmd_regs without devcmd_lock, and pdsc_legacy_firmware_update()'s download loop derefs cmd_regs after dropping and retaking the lock without re-checking. An FLR concurrent with a devlink flash can unmap cmd_regs under an in-flight devcmd, causing a NULL deref or a write to unmapped MMIO. Take devcmd_lock across the BAR unmap/remap, and re-check cmd_regs in the download loop. Only the PF maps cmd_regs and runs devcmd, so skip the unmap on a VF, as pdsc_remove() and pdsc_reset_done() already do. A reset that completes entirely within the unlocked window is not a correctness problem for the image: the device clears its update session, so a resumed download is rejected, and it verifies the staged image before writing a flash slot, reporting PDS_RC_BAD_FW rather than activating it. pdsc_unmap_bars() also clears info_regs, intr_status and intr_ctrl. The interrupt and start/stop readers of those are quiesced before the unmap by pdsc_fw_down(), which frees the interrupts and tea

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.17%, higher than 6% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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