LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2026-23000: net/mlx5e: Fix crash on profile change rollback failure

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Fix crash on profile change rollback failure mlx5e_netdev_change_profile can fail to attach a new profile and can fail to rollback to old profile, in such case, we could end up with a dangling netdev with a fully reset netdev_priv. A retry to change profile, e.g. another attempt to call mlx5e_netdev_change_profile via switchdev mode change, will crash trying to access the now NULL priv->mdev. This fix allows mlx5e_netdev_change_profile() to handle previous failures and an empty priv, by not assuming priv is valid. Pass netdev and mdev to all flows requiring mlx5e_netdev_change_profile() and avoid passing priv. In mlx5e_netdev_change_profile() check if current priv is valid, and if not, just attach the new profile without trying to access the old one. This fixes the following oops, when enabling switchdev mode for the 2nd time after first time failure: ## Enabling switchdev mode first time: mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: E-Switch: Supported tc chains and prios offload workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: new profile init failed, -12 workqueue: Failed to create a rescuer kthread for wq "mlx5e": -EINTR mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1: mlx5e_netdev_init_profile:6214:(pid 37199): mlx5e_priv_init failed, err=-12 mlx5_core 0012:03:00.1 gpu3rdma1: mlx5e_netdev_change_profile: failed to rollback to orig profile, -12 ^^^^^^^^ mlx5_core 0000:00:03.0: E-Switch: Disable: mode(LEGACY), nvfs(0), necvfs(0), active vports(0) ## retry: Enabling switchdev mode 2nd time: mlx5_core 0000:00:03.0: E-Switch: Supported tc chains and prios offload BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000038 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 13 UID: 0 PID: 520 Comm: devlink Not tainted 6.18.0-rc4+ #91 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-2.fc40 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:mlx5e_detach_netdev+0x3c/0x90 Code: 50 00 00 f0 80 4f 78 02 48 8b bf e8 07 00 00 48 85 ff 74 16 48 8b 73 78 48 d1 ee 83 e6 01 83 f6 01 40 0f b6 f6 e8 c4 42 00 00 <48> 8b 45 38 48 85 c0 74 08 48 89 df e8 cc 47 40 1e 48 8b bb f0 07 RSP: 0018:ffffc90000673890 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8881036a89c0 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: ffff888113f63800 RSI: ffffffff822fe720 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000002dcd R09: 0000000000000000 R10: ffffc900006738e8 R11: 00000000ffffffff R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff8881036a89c0 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007fdfb8384740(0000) GS:ffff88856a9d6000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000038 CR3: 0000000112ae0005 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> mlx5e_netdev_change_profile+0x45/0xb0 mlx5e_vport_rep_load+0x27b/0x2d0 mlx5_esw_offloads_rep_load+0x72/0xf0 esw_offloads_enable+0x5d0/0x970 mlx5_eswitch_enable_locked+0x349/0x430 ? is_mp_supported+0x57/0xb0 mlx5_devlink_eswitch_mode_set+0x26b/0x430 devlink_nl_eswitch_set_doit+0x6f/0xf0 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe8/0x140 genl_rcv_msg+0x18b/0x290 ? __pfx_devlink_nl_pre_doit+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_devlink_nl_eswitch_set_doit+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_devlink_nl_post_doit+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 netlink_rcv_skb+0x52/0x100 genl_rcv+0x28/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x282/0x3e0 ? __alloc_skb+0xd6/0x190 netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430 __sys_sendto+0x213/0x220 ? __sys_recvmsg+0x6a/0xd0 __x64_sys_sendto+0x24/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x50/0x1f0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fdfb8495047

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2026-23000 is a Linux kernel crash bug in the mlx5 Ethernet driver. After a failed profile change and failed rollback, a second profile-change attempt can dereference cleared driver state and crash the kernel. The documented scenario involves enabling switchdev mode on mlx5 hardware after an earlier failure.

Executive priority

Treat this as targeted operational reliability risk, not confirmed internet-scale exploitation. Prioritize patching infrastructure using mlx5 NICs or switchdev workflows, especially where a kernel crash would interrupt production networking, storage, GPU, or virtualization workloads.

Technical view

The flaw is in mlx5e_netdev_change_profile handling after rollback failure. A dangling netdev can remain with reset netdev_priv, and later code assumes priv->mdev is valid. The fix changes flows to pass netdev and mdev directly and handles empty priv by attaching the new profile without accessing old state.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the mlx5/mlx5e driver, especially environments changing E-Switch or switchdev mode. The source lists Linux kernel affected versions, but does not provide distro package mappings, CVSS, or broad product inventory guidance.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is stated in the source bundle, and KEV is false. The described trigger is an operational retry after a failed mlx5e profile change and rollback, producing a kernel NULL pointer dereference and likely denial of service.

Researcher notes

Evidence is strong for root cause and crash mechanics but incomplete for severity scoring, exploitability, and distribution packaging. The issue is a kernel NULL pointer dereference after error-path state corruption in mlx5e profile rollback handling.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply a kernel or vendor update containing one of the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check distribution advisories for exact fixed package versions.
  • Prioritize hosts using mlx5/mlx5e networking and switchdev or E-Switch mode changes.
  • Avoid repeated profile or switchdev mode changes after failure until patched.
  • Monitor kernel logs for mlx5e rollback failures and NULL pointer dereference crashes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts with mlx5/mlx5e drivers loaded or installed.
  • Confirm running kernel includes the relevant stable fix commit or vendor backport.
  • Review kernel logs for mlx5e_netdev_change_profile rollback failures.
  • Verify non-production switchdev workflows no longer crash after update.
  • Track vendor advisories because package-level affected ranges are not provided here.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-23000 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxc4d7eb57687f358cd498ea3624519236af8db97e, c4d7eb57687f358cd498ea3624519236af8db97e, c4d7eb57687f358cd498ea3624519236af8db97eunaffected
LinuxLinux5.12, 0, 6.12.67, 6.18.7, 6.19affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.