Stale buffer release in Linux kernel mlx5e AF_XDP receive path
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 6.4 has a flaw in the mlx5e driver's AF_XDP zero-copy receive path. When a buffer refill is retried after an allocation failure, the driver releases buffers that were already returned to the XSK pool, through stale pointers, because the release state is not cleared. A remote attacker with no privileges and no user interaction can exploit it according to the CVSS 3.1 vector, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity and availability.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Prevent stale XSK buffer release on MPWQE refill retry With AF_XDP on a striding RQ, mlx5e defers releasing XSK buffers until an MPWQE is refilled. If XSK allocation then returns -ENOMEM, actual_wq_head is not advanced and a later NAPI poll retries the same WQE. mlx5e_free_rx_mpwqe() leaves each released slot marked as releasable. On retry it can therefore call xsk_buff_free() again through stale pointers after the frames have returned to the XSK pool and been reallocated. Set all skip_release_bitmap bits in the common error path of mlx5e_xsk_alloc_rx_mpwqe(). This matches mlx5e_alloc_rx_mpwqe(). A successful allocation already clears the bitmap after replacing every buffer, so retries become idempotent without changing the success path. Fault injection forced three consecutive failures for one selected MPWQE. Both an early allocation failure and a partial 8-of-16-buffer unwind released the original 16 XSK buffers only once. Each error left a full bitmap, the following NAPI retry skipped the release, and a later successful allocation cleared it. A 20-second AF_XDP zero-copy pressure run exercised 1,575,262 buffer allocation failures without invalid descriptors, WQE errors, or kernel warnings.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Fixed Linux kernel versions are 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11 and 7.3. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 as affected with no fix available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11, 7.3
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 yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-23 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-99078
- 2026-10-23 Alias added: GHSA-365v-92v4-8whj
- 2026-10-24 CVSS score added · CNA
- 2026-10-24 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
- 2026-11-02 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-02 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-03 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f3a52e2ec2788a7f6b64137985c087188a54ad4f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d215d09606b0fcd18ad1eb532995782a21cea49d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/867119b4b588037724b85839d534465f0334d9bd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d73a1164a8c6b4461907a65cb6c022ea4fd39af
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63811edf512584c946e5e96b100e9e280703bbb5
More Linux vulnerabilities
- 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-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-99078 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-99078 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-365v-92v4-8whj · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-99078 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences