CVE-2026-98693
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thunderbolt: Hold a router reference for each allocated HopID tb_stop() drops the reference to all DP tunnels but does not deactivate them, thus nothing cancels a dprx_work still in flight (which holds its own tunnel reference) and the tunnel can outlive tb_switch_remove(). The HopID releases in tb_path_free() then operate on freed IDAs and trigger warnings like ida_free called for id=8 which is not allocated. This can be triggered by unbinding the driver while a DP tunnel is still waiting for the DPRX capabilities read to finish. On the Apple NHI unplugging the cable runs into just that reliably because the read can never finish right now and because the unplug powers down the entire USB4 complex and removes the NHI device. Take a router reference whenever an input or output HopID is allocated and drop it again after the HopID is released. This keeps the ports and their HopID IDAs alive for as long as they are used. The KUnit tests allocate routers without ever registering their devices so initialize the embedded struct device there as well and drop its initial reference when the test is finished.
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Evidence confidence: Not assessed Evidence-derived, not an exploitability verdict
Severity & attack characteristics
CVSS vector:Not supplied
No CVSS vector is currently available in the source record.
Technical explanation & impact
Technical root-cause details are not available in the current source record.
Assess the impact using the published CVSS metrics and the affected vendor component.
Affected products and versions
NVD has not supplied machine-readable vulnerable CPE product/version entries for this CVE. This is an information gap, not proof that no products are affected. Check the vendor advisory references below.
Remediation & validation
- Identify exposure by comparing the affected product and version ranges with your asset inventory, SBOM and externally exposed services.
- Review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes. Upgrade to a vendor-confirmed fixed release; do not infer a fixed version from the CVE description.
- Until patched, consider restricting network access or disabling the affected feature where operationally safe. These are temporary controls, not a substitute for a vendor fix.
- Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.
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Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references
No external references are currently supplied in the CVE record.