{"id":"CVE-2026-74717","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"net/mlx5: fw_tracer, return NULL on create error","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/mlx5: fw_tracer, return NULL on create error\n\nTracer creation can fail by returning either NULL or ERR_PTR.\nThe return value is stored without a check on the device, and users\ntreat ERR_PTR and NULL the same way.\nThis also causes a crash in the core dump logic, which is missing the\nERR_PTR check and ends up dereferencing it, as shown in the trace below.\n\nSwitch tracer creation to return NULL on failure only, so callers only\nneed a single NULL check.\n\n  Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1]  SMP\n  Modules linked in: mlx5_ib ib_uverbs ib_core ipv6 mlx5_core\n  CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 12 Comm: kworker/u16:0 Not tainted 6.19.7 #1 PREEMPT(none)\n  Workqueue: mlx5_health0001:01:00.0 mlx5_fw_reporter_err_work [mlx5_core]\n  pstate: a3400009 (NzCv daif +PAN -UAO +TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)\n  pc : mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x58/0xe0 [mlx5_core]\n  lr : mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x40/0xe0 [mlx5_core]\n  sp : ffff800081cf3c40\n  x29: ffff800081cf3c90 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000\n  x26: ffff000080018828 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: ffff000080304a05\n  x23: ffff800081cf3d80 x22: ffff0000847e01a0 x21: 0000000000000000\n  x20: ffff0000847e01a0 x19: ffffffffffffffa1 x18: ffff80008310bbf0\n  x17: ffff800080119650 x16: ffff80008010df54 x15: ffff80008010d4ac\n  x14: ffff800079c202e4 x13: ffff80008002fe60 x12: ffff800080119650\n  x11: ffff80008010df54 x10: ffff80008010d4ac x9 : ffff800079c203d8\n  x8 : ffff800081cf3c88 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000\n  x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000008 x3 : 0000000000000030\n  x2 : 0000000000000008 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 00000000c5c4000e\n  Call trace:\n   mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x58/0xe0 [mlx5_core] (P)\n   mlx5_fw_reporter_dump+0x30/0x2e0 [mlx5_core]\n   devlink_health_do_dump+0x9c/0x160\n   devlink_health_report+0x1c0/0x288\n   mlx5_fw_reporter_err_work+0xac/0xc0 [mlx5_core]\n   process_one_work+0x15c/0x3d8\n   worker_thread+0x18c/0x320\n   kthread+0x148/0x228\n   ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n  Code: b9400000 5ac00800 7a401800 540003ca (3940a260)\n  ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---\n  Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception\n  SMP: stopping secondary CPUs\n  Kernel Offset: disabled\n  CPU features: 0x000000,00078031,75fce5a1,35fffe67\n  Memory Limit: none\n  ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception ]---","publishedAt":"2026-08-22T15:33:11.488Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T19:16:11.661Z","severity":{"score":7.5,"label":"High","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","source":"Linux"},"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"47fe0d2571e5b446a0f0b0c1d6b99f55e51f5cc0","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"ee41ea49c4ab0e4015919f52ad23ec251d3b39d3","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"04599570c3a18f9ae7aad36825eb46f3dcd2c4e3","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"9a416f000285a94c1b723877547981dec8132434","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"b1d6375b9a63c9dc7e5e780d3ea9b126fe30d6cb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"80094352bd40ba54a33731f9c22872493983ed6d","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"4aafa600d93e9551c1f24e785d57cbd4adf021d5","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"af39eb111ce6b5eba9c08513b62c4868eb7e7fd5","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/diag/fw_tracer.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"5.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"5.3","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.265","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.216","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.183","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.152","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.104","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.45","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.9","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/diag/fw_tracer.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47fe0d2571e5b446a0f0b0c1d6b99f55e51f5cc0","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee41ea49c4ab0e4015919f52ad23ec251d3b39d3","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04599570c3a18f9ae7aad36825eb46f3dcd2c4e3","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a416f000285a94c1b723877547981dec8132434","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1d6375b9a63c9dc7e5e780d3ea9b126fe30d6cb","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80094352bd40ba54a33731f9c22872493983ed6d","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4aafa600d93e9551c1f24e785d57cbd4adf021d5","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af39eb111ce6b5eba9c08513b62c4868eb7e7fd5"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:12:58.252Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/74xxx/CVE-2026-74717.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-74717","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-08-22T15:33:11.488Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-16T19:16:11.661Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2026-08-15T05:44:03.928Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"net/mlx5: fw_tracer, return NULL on create error","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/mlx5: fw_tracer, return NULL on create error\n\nTracer creation can fail by returning either NULL or ERR_PTR.\nThe return value is stored without a check on the device, and users\ntreat ERR_PTR and NULL the same way.\nThis also causes a crash in the core dump logic, which is missing the\nERR_PTR check and ends up dereferencing it, as shown in the trace below.\n\nSwitch tracer creation to return NULL on failure only, so callers only\nneed a single NULL check.\n\n  Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000006 [#1]  SMP\n  Modules linked in: mlx5_ib ib_uverbs ib_core ipv6 mlx5_core\n  CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 12 Comm: kworker/u16:0 Not tainted 6.19.7 #1 PREEMPT(none)\n  Workqueue: mlx5_health0001:01:00.0 mlx5_fw_reporter_err_work [mlx5_core]\n  pstate: a3400009 (NzCv daif +PAN -UAO +TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)\n  pc : mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x58/0xe0 [mlx5_core]\n  lr : mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x40/0xe0 [mlx5_core]\n  sp : ffff800081cf3c40\n  x29: ffff800081cf3c90 x28: 0000000000000000 x27: 0000000000000000\n  x26: ffff000080018828 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: ffff000080304a05\n  x23: ffff800081cf3d80 x22: ffff0000847e01a0 x21: 0000000000000000\n  x20: ffff0000847e01a0 x19: ffffffffffffffa1 x18: ffff80008310bbf0\n  x17: ffff800080119650 x16: ffff80008010df54 x15: ffff80008010d4ac\n  x14: ffff800079c202e4 x13: ffff80008002fe60 x12: ffff800080119650\n  x11: ffff80008010df54 x10: ffff80008010d4ac x9 : ffff800079c203d8\n  x8 : ffff800081cf3c88 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000\n  x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000008 x3 : 0000000000000030\n  x2 : 0000000000000008 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : 00000000c5c4000e\n  Call trace:\n   mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general+0x58/0xe0 [mlx5_core] (P)\n   mlx5_fw_reporter_dump+0x30/0x2e0 [mlx5_core]\n   devlink_health_do_dump+0x9c/0x160\n   devlink_health_report+0x1c0/0x288\n   mlx5_fw_reporter_err_work+0xac/0xc0 [mlx5_core]\n   process_one_work+0x15c/0x3d8\n   worker_thread+0x18c/0x320\n   kthread+0x148/0x228\n   ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n  Code: b9400000 5ac00800 7a401800 540003ca (3940a260)\n  ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---\n  Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception\n  SMP: stopping secondary CPUs\n  Kernel Offset: disabled\n  CPU features: 0x000000,00078031,75fce5a1,35fffe67\n  Memory Limit: none\n  ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception ]---"}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"47fe0d2571e5b446a0f0b0c1d6b99f55e51f5cc0","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"ee41ea49c4ab0e4015919f52ad23ec251d3b39d3","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"04599570c3a18f9ae7aad36825eb46f3dcd2c4e3","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"9a416f000285a94c1b723877547981dec8132434","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"b1d6375b9a63c9dc7e5e780d3ea9b126fe30d6cb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"80094352bd40ba54a33731f9c22872493983ed6d","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"4aafa600d93e9551c1f24e785d57cbd4adf021d5","versionType":"git"},{"version":"fd1483fe1f9fd45fe312adffb0faffa57446690d","status":"affected","lessThan":"af39eb111ce6b5eba9c08513b62c4868eb7e7fd5","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/diag/fw_tracer.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"5.3","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"5.3","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.265","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.216","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.183","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.152","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.104","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.45","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.9","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/diag/fw_tracer.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47fe0d2571e5b446a0f0b0c1d6b99f55e51f5cc0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee41ea49c4ab0e4015919f52ad23ec251d3b39d3"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04599570c3a18f9ae7aad36825eb46f3dcd2c4e3"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a416f000285a94c1b723877547981dec8132434"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1d6375b9a63c9dc7e5e780d3ea9b126fe30d6cb"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80094352bd40ba54a33731f9c22872493983ed6d"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4aafa600d93e9551c1f24e785d57cbd4adf021d5"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af39eb111ce6b5eba9c08513b62c4868eb7e7fd5"}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","baseScore":7.5,"baseSeverity":"HIGH"},"scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"AV:N - On internet-facing cloud/HPC hosts with mlx5 PF NICs, a remote attacker can induce ConnectX firmware syndrome via crafted network/RDMA traffic; the kernel health poller then auto-invokes mlx5_fw_reporter_dump without any local syscall.\nAC:L - On affected hardware, mlx5_fw_tracer_create leaves ERR_PTR in dev->tracer at probe (e.g. -EOPNOTSUPP when trace_to_memory is unset); once present, any FW syndrome or health miss counter event reliably queues the dump workqueue that dereferences the bad pointer.\nPR:N - The crash path shown in the fix oops is triggered automatically by mlx5_fw_reporter_err_work from the health poller with no userspace action; inducing FW syndrome over the network requires no host credentials, unlike the optional devlink dump path that needs CAP_NET_ADMIN.\nUI:N - Exploitation requires no victim interaction; the devlink health auto_dump fires from kernel workqueues when firmware reports a syndrome or miss-count threshold, independent of user actions such as mounts or file opens.\nS:U - Impact is confined to kernel crash/panic on the host running mlx5_core; there is no VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or crossing from guest VF context into a separate security authority beyond standard host kernel failure.\nC:N - The bug is an ERR_PTR mishandled as a valid mlx5_fw_tracer pointer; mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general dereferences tracer->owner and faults immediately, producing an oops with no out-of-bounds read, UAF, or information disclosure primitive.\nI:N - Faulting on an ERR_PTR-encoded address does not corrupt adjacent memory or provide a controllable write primitive; the only outcome is an unrecoverable kernel oops/panic, not arbitrary modification or code execution.\nA:H - The fix commit documents a fatal kernel Oops in mlx5_fw_tracer_trigger_core_dump_general followed by 'Kernel panic - not syncing', causing complete loss of host availability on affected mlx5 PF systems when the FW reporter dump path runs."}]}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-08-25T05:41:59.788Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.265"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.216"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.183"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.152"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.104"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.45"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"7.1.9"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"5.3","versionEndExcluding":"7.2"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}},"adp":[{"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment","metrics":[{"other":{"type":"ssvc","content":{"id":"CVE-2026-74717","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"Exploitation":"none"},{"Automatable":"yes"},{"Technical Impact":"partial"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-10-16T19:15:32.943854Z"}}}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"CISA-ADP","orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","dateUpdated":"2026-10-16T19:16:11.661Z"}}]}}}