net/mlx5: Fix deadlock between devlink lock and esw->wq
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix deadlock between devlink lock and esw->wq esw->work_queue executes esw_functions_changed_event_handler -> esw_vfs_changed_event_handler and acquires the devlink lock. .eswitch_mode_set (acquires devlink lock in devlink_nl_pre_doit) -> mlx5_devlink_eswitch_mode_set -> mlx5_eswitch_disable_locked -> mlx5_eswitch_event_handler_unregister -> flush_workqueue deadlocks when esw_vfs_changed_event_handler executes. Fix that by no longer flushing the work to avoid the deadlock, and using a generation counter to keep track of work relevance. This avoids an old handler manipulating an esw that has undergone one or more mode changes: - the counter is incremented in mlx5_eswitch_event_handler_unregister. - the counter is read and passed to the ephemeral mlx5_host_work struct. - the work handler takes the devlink lock and bails out if the current generation is different than the one it was scheduled to operate on. - mlx5_eswitch_cleanup does the final draining before destroying the wq. No longer flushing the workqueue has the side effect of maybe no longer cancelling pending vport_change_handler work items, but that's ok since those are disabled elsewhere: - mlx5_eswitch_disable_locked disables the vport eq notifier. - mlx5_esw_vport_disable disarms the HW EQ notification and marks vport->enabled under state_lock to false to prevent pending vport handler from doing anything. - mlx5_eswitch_cleanup destroys the workqueue and makes sure all events are disabled/finished.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.0 and later | 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.0 and later Fixed in 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.0 to before 6.1.167; 6.2 to before 6.6.130; 6.7 to before 6.12.78; 6.13 to before 6.18.19; 6.19 to before 6.19.9 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.0 to before 6.1.167; 6.2 to before 6.6.130; 6.7 to before 6.12.78; 6.13 to before 6.18.19; 6.19 to before 6.19.9 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-43468
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7gc8-cffq-4r9r
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0de867f6e34eae6907b367fd152c55e61cb98608
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/957d2a58f7f8ebcbdd0a85935e0d2675134b890d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c7313cb41b1b427078440364d2f042c276a1c0b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a7838bebc38374f74baaf88bf2cf8d439a92923
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90e7e5d14d0bd25ffd019a3aa39d9f1c05fedbe1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aed763abf0e905b4b8d747d1ba9e172961572f57
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Sources
- CVE-2026-43468 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-43468 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7gc8-cffq-4r9r · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-43468 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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