A flaw in the Linux kernel’s stmmac driver for GMAC4 surfaces when the split‑header feature is enabled. The hardware may leave the second buffer of the first descriptor uninitialized, yet the driver assumes it is fully populated. This incorrect assumption leads to a miscalculated length for subsequent descriptors and ultimately triggers a kernel oops. The resulting kernel panic is evident from a paging‑request fault trace. The vulnerability therefore manifests as a memory‑corruption‑induced crash that can disrupt kernel operation.

All installations of the Linux kernel that include the GMAC4 stmmac driver and are configured to use split headers are susceptible. No specific kernel versions are cited, so any build with these components and the split‑header option enabled should be treated as at risk.

Based on the description, it is inferred that the vulnerability can be triggered by packets sent to the GMAC4 network interface, implying that the attack vector is local to that interface or could be remote if the interface is exposed. This inference derives from the hardware behavior described in the fix, indicating that incorrectly filled descriptor buffers lead to a kernel oops when processing incoming traffic. The impact remains high because the kernel crash constitutes a denial of service. No public exploit has been documented, and the EPSS score is unavailable, so the likelihood of exploitation is low. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, underscoring that it is not yet a known exploited vulnerability.