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TI-2026-33834 Aliases CVE-2026-46110GHSA-5hfj-3vgw-hm4r

net: stmmac: Prevent NULL deref when RX memory exhausted

Priority LOW 33CWE-476Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Denial of service
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-476.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: stmmac: Prevent NULL deref when RX memory exhausted The CPU receives frames from the MAC through conventional DMA: the CPU allocates buffers for the MAC, then the MAC fills them and returns ownership to the CPU. For each hardware RX queue, the CPU and MAC coordinate through a shared ring array of DMA descriptors: one descriptor per DMA buffer. Each descriptor includes the buffer's physical address and a status flag ("OWN") indicating which side owns the buffer: OWN=0 for CPU, OWN=1 for MAC. The CPU is only allowed to set the flag and the MAC is only allowed to clear it, and both must move through the ring in sequence: thus the ring is used for both "submissions" and "completions." In the stmmac driver, stmmac_rx() bookmarks its position in the ring with the `cur_rx` index. The main receive loop in that function checks for rx_descs[cur_rx].own=0, gives the corresponding buffer to the network stack (NULLing the pointer), and increments `cur_rx` modulo the ring size. After the loop exits, stmmac_rx_refill(), which bookmarks its position with `dirty_rx`, allocates fresh buffers and rearms the descriptors (setting OWN=1). If it fails any allocation, it simply stops early (leaving OWN=0) and will retry where it left off when next called. This means descriptors have a three-stage lifecycle (terms my own): - `empty` (OWN=1, buffer valid) - `full` (OWN=0, buffer valid and populated) - `dirty` (OWN=0, buffer NULL) But because stmmac_rx() only checks OWN, it confuses `full`/`dirty`. In the past (see 'Fixes:'), there was a bug where the loop could cycle `cur_rx` all the way back to the first descriptor it dirtied, resulting in a NULL dereference when mistaken for `full`. The aforementioned commit resolved that *specific* failure by capping the loop's iteration limit at `dma_rx_size - 1`, but this is only a partial fix: if the previous stmmac_rx_refill() didn't complete, then there are leftover `dirty` descriptors that the loop might encounter without needing to cycle fully around. The current code therefore panics (see 'Closes:') when stmmac_rx_refill() is memory-starved long enough for `cur_rx` to catch up to `dirty_rx`. Fix this by explicitly checking, before advancing `cur_rx`, if the next entry is dirty; exit the loop if so. This prevents processing of the final, used descriptor until stmmac_rx_refill() succeeds, but fully prevents the `cur_rx == dirty_rx` ambiguity as the previous bugfix intended: so remove the clamp as well. Since stmmac_rx_zc() is a copy-paste-and-tweak of stmmac_rx() and the code structure is identical, any fix to stmmac_rx() will also need a corresponding fix for stmmac_rx_zc(). Therefore, apply the same check there. In stmmac_rx() (not stmmac_rx_zc()), a related bug remains: after the MAC sets OWN=0 on the final descriptor, it will be unable to send any further DMA-complete IRQs until it's given more `empty` descriptors. Currently, the driver simply *hopes* that the next stmmac_rx_refill() succeeds, risking an indefinite stall of the receive process if not. But this is not a regression, so it can be addressed in a future change.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00511 43rd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed Linux (Linux): 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.6 +4

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux6.1.64 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.3 to before 6.6.140; 6.5.13 to before 6.66.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.6Patch availableCNA
LinuxLinux6.7 and later6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.1.64 to before 6.1.176; 6.6.3 to before 6.6.140; 6.5.13 to before 6.6 Fixed in 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.6 Patch available CNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.7 and later Fixed in 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 10

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*6.1.64 to before 6.1.176; 6.5.13 to before 6.6; 6.6.3 to before 6.6.140; 6.7.1 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:-:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc2VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc3VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc4VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc5VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc6VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc7VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*6.7 rc8VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*7.1 rc1VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1.64 to before 6.1.176; 6.5.13 to before 6.6; 6.6.3 to before 6.6.140; 6.7.1 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.7:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.7 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.6
  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

Not affected: 5 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46110
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5hfj-3vgw-hm4r
  3. 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  4. 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources