CVE-2026-46287 — linux / linux_kernel
Reachable AssertionIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: txgbe: fix RTNL assertion warning when remove module
For the copper NIC with external PHY, the driver called phylink_connect_phy() during probe and phylink_disconnect_phy() during remove. It caused an RTNL assertion warning in phylink_disconnect_phy() upon module remove.
To fix this, add rtnl_lock() and rtnl_unlock() around the phylink_disconnect_phy() in remove function.
------------[ cut here ]------------ RTNL: assertion failed at drivers/net/phy/phylink.c (2351) WARNING: drivers/net/phy/phylink.c:2351 at phylink_disconnect_phy+0xd8/0xf0 [phylink], CPU#0: rmmod/4464 Modules linked in: ... CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 4464 Comm: rmmod Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.0.0-rc4+ Hardware name: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. MS-7E16/X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI (MS-7E16), BIOS 1.90 12/31/2024 RIP: 0010:phylink_disconnect_phy+0xe4/0xf0 [phylink] Code: 5b 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f 5d 31 c0 31 d2 31 f6 31 ff e9 3a 38 8f e7 48 8d 3d 48 87 e2 ff ba 2f 09 00 00 48 c7 c6 c1 22 24 c0 <67> 48 0f b9 3a e9 34 ff ff ff 66 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 RSP: 0018:ffffce7288363ac0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff89654b2a1a00 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 000000000000092f RSI: ffffffffc02422c1 RDI: ffffffffc0239020 RBP: ffffce7288363ae8 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8964c4022000 R13: ffff89654fce3028 R14: ffff89654ebb4000 R15: ffffffffc0226348 FS: 0000795e80d93780(0000) GS:ffff896c52857000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00005b528b592000 CR3: 0000000170d0f000 CR4: 0000000000f50ef0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> txgbe_remove_phy+0xbb/0xd0 [txgbe] txgbe_remove+0x4c/0xb0 [txgbe] pci_device_remove+0x41/0xb0 device_remove+0x43/0x80 device_release_driver_internal+0x206/0x270 driver_detach+0x4a/0xa0 bus_remove_driver+0x83/0x120 driver_unregister+0x2f/0x60 pci_unregister_driver+0x40/0x90 txgbe_driver_exit+0x10/0x850 [txgbe] __do_sys_delete_module.isra.0+0x1c3/0x2f0 __x64_sys_delete_module+0x12/0x20 x64_sys_call+0x20c3/0x2390 do_syscall_64+0x11c/0x1500 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? do_syscall_64+0x15a/0x1500 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? do_fault+0x312/0x580 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? __handle_mm_fault+0x9d5/0x1040 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? count_memcg_events+0x101/0x1d0 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? handle_mm_fault+0x1e8/0x2f0 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x2f8/0x820 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? irqentry_exit+0xb2/0x600 ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 ? exc_page_fault+0x92/0x1c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
| Software | Affected versions |
|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | >= 6.6, < 6.6.140 |
| linux / linux_kernel | >= 6.7, < 6.12.88 |
| linux / linux_kernel | >= 6.13, < 6.18.27 |
| linux / linux_kernel | >= 6.19, < 7.0.4 |
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0305e7118451c7c363c18f8113b0d8e0077ffa4c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e223a7fd41ce6fffdb10577df9350385262bf33
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c5ec52c68a6a442c8a159615ae092512562318a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d29cafc7e4ee9e28a150ba17e9a565ec5d881fbc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e159f05e12cc1111a3103b99375ddf0dfd0e7d63
Is CVE-2026-46287 exposed on your perimeter?
A vulnerability database tells you what is broken. Attack surface management tells you where it is running: it discovers your internet-facing assets and flags the ones affected by issues like this one.
What is attack surface management? →
Deep Security Visibility Without the Complexity
SynScan provides clear, real-time security insights so you can monitor your attack surface, spot risks early, and act fast—without extra complexity.
- No setup fees
- 5-min deployment
- Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.