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Linux CVE-2026-23000

MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2026-01-25 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS 5.5 (MEDIUM). Attack vector: Local. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: None.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

The Linux kernel mlx5e driver crashes with a null pointer dereference when profile change operations fail and rollback is unsuccessful, leaving the network device in an invalid state. A local attacker with standard user privileges can trigger a denial of service by attempting subsequent profile changes, such as through switchdev mode modifications, which will access the dangling null pointer and crash the system.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:59 CVSS 5.5

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. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available — apply it immediately.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Classified as CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference). Affects Linux Kernel. 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_

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch released
Feb 24, 2026 - 21:01 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Jan 25, 2026 - 15:15 nvd
MEDIUM 5.5

DescriptionNVD

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

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-23000 presents moderate security risk, a null pointer dereference vulnerability rated CVSS 5.5. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. A patch is available and should be applied during regular vulnerability management.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: enable ASLR/DEP, apply network segmentation.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 97% exploitable
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Low

Priority Score

28
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container:2.1.3-6.35 Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/toolbox:13.2-9.1 Image SLE-Micro-Azure Image SLE-Micro-BYOS Image SLE-Micro-BYOS-Azure Image SLE-Micro-BYOS-EC2 Image SLE-Micro-BYOS-GCE Image SLE-Micro-GCE Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:2.1.3-7.95 Image SL-Micro Image SLE-Micro Image SLE-Micro-EC2 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container:2.1.3-6.115 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/rt-os-container:2.1.3-7.146 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container:2.2.1-5.80 Image SL-Micro-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Proxy-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-Azure-ltd Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-BYOS-EC2 Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-llc Image SUSE-Multi-Linux-Manager-Server-EC2-ltd Affected

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