CVE-2026-97956: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in net_failover_slave_name

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in net_failover_slave_name_change() This is a sibling

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in net_failover_slave_name_change() This is a sibling fix of commit b84c5632c7b3 ("net: net_failover: Fix the deadlock in slave register"). There is netdev_lock_ops() in the upper callers, so using netif_open() instead of dev_open(). Call Trace: __schedule+0x2bb/0x650 schedule+0x27/0xb0 schedule_preempt_disabled+0x15/0x30 __mutex_lock.constprop.0+0x550/0xaf0 __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x13/0x20 mutex_lock+0x3b/0x50 dev_open+0x3b/0xe0 net_failover_slave_name_change+0x22/0x40 failover_event+0xd4/0x1e0 notifier_call_chain+0x62/0xf0 raw_notifier_call_chain+0x16/0x30 call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0x50/0x80 netif_change_name+0x200/0x330 do_setlink.isra.0+0xb12/0xdf0 ? security_capable+0x9a/0x1e0 ? ns_capable+0x31/0x60 rtnl_setlink+0x302/0x670 ? netlink_recvmsg+0x296/0x340 ? security_capable+0x9a/0x1e0 ? __pfx_rtnl_setlink+0x10/0x10 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x384/0x460 ? __pfx_rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 netlink_rcv_skb+0x61/0x120 rtnetlink_rcv+0x15/0x30 netlink_unicast+0x28f/0x3c0 netlink_sendmsg+0x216/0x450 __sys_sendto+0x222/0x230 __x64_sys_sendto+0x24/0x40 x64_sy

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 5% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
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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