CVE-2025-38440: high-severity vulnerability in Linux
net/mlx5e: Fix race between DIM disable and net_dim()
Published · Updated
21Vexday Risk Score
No sign of exploitation. No public exploitation artifact known so far.
ssvc Trackcvss 7.8epss 0.1%
exploitation probability
0.1%top 96% of all CVEs
observed exploitation
nono source reports it
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/mlx5e: Fix race between DIM disable and net_dim()
There's a race between disabling DIM and NAPI callbacks using the dim
pointer on the RQ or SQ.
If NAPI checks the DIM state bit and sees it still set, it assumes
`rq->dim` or `sq->dim` is valid. But if DIM gets disabled right after
that check, the pointer might already be set to NULL, leading to a NULL
pointer dereference in net_dim().
Fix this by calling `synchronize_net()` before freeing the DIM context.
This ensures all in-progress NAPI callbacks are finished before the
pointer is cleared.
Kernel log:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
...
RIP: 0010:net_dim+0x23/0x190
...
Call Trace:
<TASK>
? __die+0x20/0x60
? page_fault_oops+0x150/0x3e0
? common_interrupt+0xf/0xa0
? sysvec_call_function_single+0xb/0x90
? exc_page_fault+0x74/0x130
? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30
? net_dim+0x23/0x190
? mlx5e_poll_ico_cq+0x41/0x6f0 [mlx5_core]
? sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xb/0x90
mlx5e_handle_rx_dim+0x92/0xd0 [mlx5_core]
mlx5e_napi_poll+0x2cd/0xac0 [mlx5_core]
? mlx5e_poll_ico_cq+0xe5/0x6f0 [mlx5_core]
busy_poll_stop+0xa2/0x200
? mlx5e_napi_poll+0x1d9/0xac0 [mlx5_core]
? mlx5e_trigger_irq+0x130/0x130 [mlx5_core]
__napi_busy_loop+0x345/0x3b0
? sysvec_call_function_single+0xb/0x90
? asm_sysvec_call_function_single+0x16/0x20
? sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xb/0x90
? pcpu_free_area+0x1e4/0x2e0
napi_busy_loop+0x11/0x20
xsk_recvmsg+0x10c/0x130
sock_recvmsg+0x44/0x70
__sys_recvfrom+0xbc/0x130
? __schedule+0x398/0x890
__x64_sys_recvfrom+0x20/0x30
do_syscall_64+0x4c/0x100
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53
...
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
...
---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt ]---
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
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