Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mlxsw: spectrum_ptp: Fix napi_gro_receive() call from GC workqueue context

Currently mlxsw_sp1_ptp_ht_gc_collect() is run from the PTP
garbage-collection workqueue, rather than the NAPI poll context. For any
unmatched PTP entries carrying an SKB, it calls
mlxsw_sp1_ptp_unmatched_finish() -> mlxsw_sp1_ptp_packet_finish(). For
ingress packets, this calls mlxsw_sp_rx_listener_no_mark_func(). The end
of that function is the following:

skb->protocol = eth_type_trans(skb, skb->dev);
napi_gro_receive(mlxsw_skb_cb(skb)->rx_md_info.napi, skb);

The napi pointer is one that was placed in the SKB control block when the
trapped packet was received in the NAPI context. Later, when the GC reaps
the unmatched entry (up to MLXSW_SP1_PTP_HT_GC_TIMEOUT later), the call to
napi_gro_receive() mutates the NAPI instance's GRO list, which is unsafe
if the poll is running concurrently on another CPU.

In mlxsw_sp1_ptp_ht_gc_collect(), local_bh_disable() is called to prevent
softirq processing, but this only applies to the local CPU. Additionally,
its comment is stale. It states that mlxsw_sp1_ptp_unmatched_finish()
invokes netif_receive_skb(). This has not been accurate since the
referenced commit; this patch makes that comment accurate again.
mlxsw_pci_napi_devs_init() calls netif_threaded_enable() on the NAPI RX
net_device without any conditions. The NAPI instance's poll, which may be
running concurrent to the GC, is running as an independently-scheduled
kthread which may be on a different CPU. The call to local_bh_disable()
does not guard against this.

If a tx-timestamp timeout produces an unmatched entry (which can be easily
reproduced by running ptp4l and waiting for a port to reach the
UNCALIBRATED/SLAVE state) while the owning NAPI thread is in the middle of
a poll on another CPU, both sides mutate the GRO list concurrently, as
shown below:

[39.846] port 1 (swp1): MASTER to UNCALIBRATED on RS_SLAVE
list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev (ffff8d620faf4138), but was ffff8d624150f700. (next=ffff8d620faf4138).
kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:29!
Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 539 Comm: napi/mlxsw_rx-0 Not tainted 6.18.48 #1-NixOS PREEMPT(lazy)
Hardware name: Mellanox Technologies Ltd. MSN2410/VMOD0001, BIOS 4.6.5 09/13/2018
RIP: 0010:__list_add_valid_or_report+0x79/0xb0
RSP: 0018:ffffcdf8c0f27c08 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: 0000000000000075 RBX: ffff8d624150fd00 RCX: 0000000000000000
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff8d6315d1e540
RBP: ffff8d620faf4070 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 00000000ffffdfff
R10: ffffffffa5c60fe0 R11: ffffcdf8c0f27ab8 R12: 0000000000000003
R13: 000000000000003d R14: 00000000000001bc R15: 0000000000000001
FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8d636f63f000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 0000562689a60c24 CR3: 000000015f224004 CR4: 00000000001726f0
Call Trace:
<TASK>
gro_receive_skb+0xee/0x230
mlxsw_sp1_ptp_got_packet+0x61/0x140 [mlxsw_spectrum]
mlxsw_core_skb_receive+0xdf/0x1b0 [mlxsw_core]
mlxsw_pci_napi_poll_cq_rx+0x780/0x9d0 [mlxsw_pci]
__napi_poll+0x31/0x1e0
napi_threaded_poll_loop+0x16b/0x1c0
napi_threaded_poll+0x71/0xa0
kthread+0xfb/0x260
ret_from_fork+0x22d/0x260
ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
</TASK>
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt

The machinery that leads to this kernel panic has not been changed between
6.18.48 and mainline.

This patch adds an ingress-delivery helper for the PTP packet_finish()
path that calls netif_receive_skb() instead of napi_gro_receive().
netif_receive_skb(), unlike napi_gro_receive(), can be called from outside
of the NAPI instance's poll context, which can occur at the call site for
this path. RX stats accounting and the skb->dev assignment are still
preserved; the only change is the delivery call itself.

This removes GR
---truncated---
Published: 2026-09-25
Score: 7.5 High
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: Denial of Service via kernel crash
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

An incorrectly timed call to napi_gro_receive from the garbage-collection workqueue in the Mellanox Spectrum PTP driver corrupts the kernel’s GRO list while an NAPI poll thread is executing. The corrupted list triggers a kernel panic, causing an abrupt host crash. The flaw is a race condition that results in a loss of availability.

Affected Systems

All Linux kernel installations that include the Mellanox Spectrum driver before the patch, notably kernel 6.18.48 and earlier mainline releases, are impacted. The flaw occurs when PTP (Precise Time Protocol) support is enabled and the driver processes unmatched PTP entries during garbage-collection. Systems using Mellanox Spectrum NICs such as the MSN2410/VMOD0001 and running ptp4l or similar PTP daemons are affected.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.5 indicates high severity. The EPSS score (< 1%) indicates a very low probability of exploitation, but the condition can be triggered by generating a tx-timestamp timeout or by sending PTP traffic. An attacker with sufficient network or local access could. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, indicating that no widely available exploits are documented at this time, yet the loss of service risk warrants immediate action.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 7, 2026 at 08:02 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for the Mellanox Spectrum PTP driver.
  • If a kernel upgrade is not immediately possible, disable PTP support on the Mellanox Spectrum device by unloading the spectrum_ptp module or stopping the ptp4l daemon to prevent the race condition from occurring.
  • As an additional, temporary measure, block or drop PTP traffic to the affected NIC using firewall rules or VLAN isolation until the driver can be upgraded or disabled.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 7, 2026 at 08:02 UTC.

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.3:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.3:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-366
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

 threat_severity

Moderate

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 22:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mlxsw: spectrum_ptp: Fix napi_gro_receive() call from GC workqueue context Currently mlxsw_sp1_ptp_ht_gc_collect() is run from the PTP garbage-collection workqueue, rather than the NAPI poll context. For any unmatched PTP entries carrying an SKB, it calls mlxsw_sp1_ptp_unmatched_finish() -> mlxsw_sp1_ptp_packet_finish(). For ingress packets, this calls mlxsw_sp_rx_listener_no_mark_func(). The end of that function is the following: skb->protocol = eth_type_trans(skb, skb->dev); napi_gro_receive(mlxsw_skb_cb(skb)->rx_md_info.napi, skb); The napi pointer is one that was placed in the SKB control block when the trapped packet was received in the NAPI context. Later, when the GC reaps the unmatched entry (up to MLXSW_SP1_PTP_HT_GC_TIMEOUT later), the call to napi_gro_receive() mutates the NAPI instance's GRO list, which is unsafe if the poll is running concurrently on another CPU. In mlxsw_sp1_ptp_ht_gc_collect(), local_bh_disable() is called to prevent softirq processing, but this only applies to the local CPU. Additionally, its comment is stale. It states that mlxsw_sp1_ptp_unmatched_finish() invokes netif_receive_skb(). This has not been accurate since the referenced commit; this patch makes that comment accurate again. mlxsw_pci_napi_devs_init() calls netif_threaded_enable() on the NAPI RX net_device without any conditions. The NAPI instance's poll, which may be running concurrent to the GC, is running as an independently-scheduled kthread which may be on a different CPU. The call to local_bh_disable() does not guard against this. If a tx-timestamp timeout produces an unmatched entry (which can be easily reproduced by running ptp4l and waiting for a port to reach the UNCALIBRATED/SLAVE state) while the owning NAPI thread is in the middle of a poll on another CPU, both sides mutate the GRO list concurrently, as shown below: [39.846] port 1 (swp1): MASTER to UNCALIBRATED on RS_SLAVE list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev (ffff8d620faf4138), but was ffff8d624150f700. (next=ffff8d620faf4138). kernel BUG at lib/list_debug.c:29! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 539 Comm: napi/mlxsw_rx-0 Not tainted 6.18.48 #1-NixOS PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: Mellanox Technologies Ltd. MSN2410/VMOD0001, BIOS 4.6.5 09/13/2018 RIP: 0010:__list_add_valid_or_report+0x79/0xb0 RSP: 0018:ffffcdf8c0f27c08 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000075 RBX: ffff8d624150fd00 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffff8d6315d1e540 RBP: ffff8d620faf4070 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 00000000ffffdfff R10: ffffffffa5c60fe0 R11: ffffcdf8c0f27ab8 R12: 0000000000000003 R13: 000000000000003d R14: 00000000000001bc R15: 0000000000000001 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8d636f63f000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000562689a60c24 CR3: 000000015f224004 CR4: 00000000001726f0 Call Trace: <TASK> gro_receive_skb+0xee/0x230 mlxsw_sp1_ptp_got_packet+0x61/0x140 [mlxsw_spectrum] mlxsw_core_skb_receive+0xdf/0x1b0 [mlxsw_core] mlxsw_pci_napi_poll_cq_rx+0x780/0x9d0 [mlxsw_pci] __napi_poll+0x31/0x1e0 napi_threaded_poll_loop+0x16b/0x1c0 napi_threaded_poll+0x71/0xa0 kthread+0xfb/0x260 ret_from_fork+0x22d/0x260 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt The machinery that leads to this kernel panic has not been changed between 6.18.48 and mainline. This patch adds an ingress-delivery helper for the PTP packet_finish() path that calls netif_receive_skb() instead of napi_gro_receive(). netif_receive_skb(), unlike napi_gro_receive(), can be called from outside of the NAPI instance's poll context, which can occur at the call site for this path. RX stats accounting and the skb->dev assignment are still preserved; the only change is the delivery call itself. This removes GR ---truncated---
Title mlxsw: spectrum_ptp: Fix napi_gro_receive() call from GC workqueue context
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-25T14:41:57.023Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:19:56.072Z

Link: CVE-2026-98050

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Analyzed

Published: 2026-09-25T11:17:33.873

Modified: 2026-10-06T12:54:58.007

Link: CVE-2026-98050

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-09-25T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2026-98050 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-07T08:15:14Z

Weaknesses
  • CWE-362

    Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

  • CWE-366

    Race Condition within a Thread