# CVE-2026-97981: net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work

CVE-2026-97981 is fixed in 2 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97981, released September 29, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: Routine.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97981
- Priority: Routine
- CVSS: 6.2 (Moderate)
- EPSS: 0.0018
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97981

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  net: ethernet: cortina: Count dropped frames as NAPI work  The RX loop only consumes budget when it successfully delivers a frame. Error paths keep consuming descriptors without reducing the budget, so a stream of bad frames can process the entire receive ring in one poll.  Move the budget accounting to a common end-of-frame path. This counts each completed frame as NAPI work whether it was delivered or dropped, matching the behavior of the vendor driver.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | linux Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.1.190-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97981](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97981.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.12.111-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97981](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97981.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.7-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97981](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97981.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |
| Linux | linux-6.12 Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97981](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97981.md) | Sep 29, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T07:25:28Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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