In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ethtool: keep rtnl_lock for the ioctl self test An offline self test that brings the interface down and back up with netif_close() / netif_open() requires rtnl_lock for both. Since the ethtool IOCTL path became rtnl-optional for ops-locked drivers, the ETHTOOL_TEST ioctl runs holding only the netdev instance lock, so on an ops-locked driver the self test now tears the device down without rtnl_lock. With lockdep this reproduces deterministically on every offline self test on such a driver; note the sole lock held is the