In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: openvswitch: remove never-working support for setting nsh fields
The validation of the set(nsh(...)) action is completely wrong.
It runs through the nsh_key_put_from_nlattr() function that is the
same function that validates NSH keys for the flow match and the
push_nsh() action. However, the set(nsh(...)) has a very different
memory layout. Nested attributes in there are doubled in size in
case of the masked set(). That makes proper validation impossible.
There is also confusion in the code between the 'masked' flag, that
says that the nested attributes are doubled in size containing both
the value and the mask, and the 'is_mask' that says that the value
we're parsing is the mask. This is causing kernel crash on trying to
write into mask part of the match with SW_FLOW_KEY_PUT() during
validation, while validate_nsh() doesn't allocate any memory for it:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
PGD 1c2383067 P4D 1c2383067 PUD 20b703067 PMD 0
Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
CPU: 8 UID: 0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.17.0-rc4+ #107 PREEMPT(voluntary)
RIP: 0010:nsh_key_put_from_nlattr+0x19d/0x610 [openvswitch]
Call Trace:
<TASK>
validate_nsh+0x60/0x90 [openvswitch]
validate_set.constprop.0+0x270/0x3c0 [openvswitch]
__ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x477/0x860 [openvswitch]
ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x8d/0x100 [openvswitch]
ovs_packet_cmd_execute+0x1cc/0x310 [openvswitch]
genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xdb/0x130
genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220
genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0
netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100
genl_rcv+0x24/0x40
netlink_unicast+0x280/0x3b0
netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430
____sys_sendmsg+0x36b/0x3a0
___sys_sendmsg+0x87/0xd0
__sys_sendmsg+0x6d/0xd0
do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
The third issue with this process is that while trying to convert
the non-masked set into masked one, validate_set() copies and doubles
the size of the OVS_KEY_ATTR_NSH as if it didn't have any nested
attributes. It should be copying each nested attribute and doubling
them in size independently. And the process must be properly reversed
during the conversion back from masked to a non-masked variant during
the flow dump.
In the end, the only two outcomes of trying to use this action are
either validation failure or a kernel crash. And if somehow someone
manages to install a flow with such an action, it will most definitely
not do what it is supposed to, since all the keys and the masks are
mixed up.
Fixing all the issues is a complex task as it requires re-writing
most of the validation code.
Given that and the fact that this functionality never worked since
introduction, let's just remove it altogether. It's better to
re-introduce it later with a proper implementation instead of trying
to fix it in stable releases.
net: openvswitch: remove never-working support for setting nsh fields
The validation of the set(nsh(...)) action is completely wrong.
It runs through the nsh_key_put_from_nlattr() function that is the
same function that validates NSH keys for the flow match and the
push_nsh() action. However, the set(nsh(...)) has a very different
memory layout. Nested attributes in there are doubled in size in
case of the masked set(). That makes proper validation impossible.
There is also confusion in the code between the 'masked' flag, that
says that the nested attributes are doubled in size containing both
the value and the mask, and the 'is_mask' that says that the value
we're parsing is the mask. This is causing kernel crash on trying to
write into mask part of the match with SW_FLOW_KEY_PUT() during
validation, while validate_nsh() doesn't allocate any memory for it:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
PGD 1c2383067 P4D 1c2383067 PUD 20b703067 PMD 0
Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
CPU: 8 UID: 0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.17.0-rc4+ #107 PREEMPT(voluntary)
RIP: 0010:nsh_key_put_from_nlattr+0x19d/0x610 [openvswitch]
Call Trace:
<TASK>
validate_nsh+0x60/0x90 [openvswitch]
validate_set.constprop.0+0x270/0x3c0 [openvswitch]
__ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x477/0x860 [openvswitch]
ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x8d/0x100 [openvswitch]
ovs_packet_cmd_execute+0x1cc/0x310 [openvswitch]
genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xdb/0x130
genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220
genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0
netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100
genl_rcv+0x24/0x40
netlink_unicast+0x280/0x3b0
netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430
____sys_sendmsg+0x36b/0x3a0
___sys_sendmsg+0x87/0xd0
__sys_sendmsg+0x6d/0xd0
do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
The third issue with this process is that while trying to convert
the non-masked set into masked one, validate_set() copies and doubles
the size of the OVS_KEY_ATTR_NSH as if it didn't have any nested
attributes. It should be copying each nested attribute and doubling
them in size independently. And the process must be properly reversed
during the conversion back from masked to a non-masked variant during
the flow dump.
In the end, the only two outcomes of trying to use this action are
either validation failure or a kernel crash. And if somehow someone
manages to install a flow with such an action, it will most definitely
not do what it is supposed to, since all the keys and the masks are
mixed up.
Fixing all the issues is a complex task as it requires re-writing
most of the validation code.
Given that and the fact that this functionality never worked since
introduction, let's just remove it altogether. It's better to
re-introduce it later with a proper implementation instead of trying
to fix it in stable releases.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sat, 06 Dec 2025 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: remove never-working support for setting nsh fields The validation of the set(nsh(...)) action is completely wrong. It runs through the nsh_key_put_from_nlattr() function that is the same function that validates NSH keys for the flow match and the push_nsh() action. However, the set(nsh(...)) has a very different memory layout. Nested attributes in there are doubled in size in case of the masked set(). That makes proper validation impossible. There is also confusion in the code between the 'masked' flag, that says that the nested attributes are doubled in size containing both the value and the mask, and the 'is_mask' that says that the value we're parsing is the mask. This is causing kernel crash on trying to write into mask part of the match with SW_FLOW_KEY_PUT() during validation, while validate_nsh() doesn't allocate any memory for it: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 1c2383067 P4D 1c2383067 PUD 20b703067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 8 UID: 0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.17.0-rc4+ #107 PREEMPT(voluntary) RIP: 0010:nsh_key_put_from_nlattr+0x19d/0x610 [openvswitch] Call Trace: <TASK> validate_nsh+0x60/0x90 [openvswitch] validate_set.constprop.0+0x270/0x3c0 [openvswitch] __ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x477/0x860 [openvswitch] ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x8d/0x100 [openvswitch] ovs_packet_cmd_execute+0x1cc/0x310 [openvswitch] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xdb/0x130 genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220 genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x280/0x3b0 netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430 ____sys_sendmsg+0x36b/0x3a0 ___sys_sendmsg+0x87/0xd0 __sys_sendmsg+0x6d/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e The third issue with this process is that while trying to convert the non-masked set into masked one, validate_set() copies and doubles the size of the OVS_KEY_ATTR_NSH as if it didn't have any nested attributes. It should be copying each nested attribute and doubling them in size independently. And the process must be properly reversed during the conversion back from masked to a non-masked variant during the flow dump. In the end, the only two outcomes of trying to use this action are either validation failure or a kernel crash. And if somehow someone manages to install a flow with such an action, it will most definitely not do what it is supposed to, since all the keys and the masks are mixed up. Fixing all the issues is a complex task as it requires re-writing most of the validation code. Given that and the fact that this functionality never worked since introduction, let's just remove it altogether. It's better to re-introduce it later with a proper implementation instead of trying to fix it in stable releases. | |
| Title | net: openvswitch: remove never-working support for setting nsh fields | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2025-12-04T16:08:16.305Z
Reserved: 2025-04-16T07:20:57.181Z
Link: CVE-2025-40254
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2025-12-04T16:16:19.080
Modified: 2025-12-04T17:15:08.283
Link: CVE-2025-40254
Redhat
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.