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DPDK EUVDEUVD-2026-101512

| CVE-2026-86856 MEDIUM
Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)
6.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Control or compromise a guest VM
  2. Delivery
    Craft malicious vDPA virtqueue/config data
  3. Exploit
    Trigger stack and heap overflow in host nfp driver
  4. Execution
    Corrupt host DPDK process memory
  5. Impact
    Crash host dataplane (denial of service)

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

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

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires the host to be running DPDK with the nfp vDPA driver active on Netronome/Corigine NFP (Network Flow Processor) SmartNIC hardware - this is a specific, non-ubiquitous deployment mode. The attacker must have control of a guest VM (or equivalent virtio/vhost front-end) whose datapath is offloaded through this vDPA driver, consistent with PR:L and AV:L. Limiting factors: hosts without NFP SmartNICs or not using vDPA acceleration are not affected; the attack is local to the virtualization host (no network-remote path, AV:L) and requires the privilege of driving the guest-side virtqueue, so it is not remotely reachable by an unauthenticated internet attacker. No user interaction is required (UI:N).

Impact

CVE-2026-86856 is a stack and heap buffer overflow in DPDK's nfp (Netronome/Corigine NFP) vDPA driver, vendor-scored CVSS 3.1 6.5 (Medium) with vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H. The local attack vector with low privilege reflects a virtualization boundary: the driver runs on the host dataplane and processes virtqueue data supplied by a guest VM, so PR:L represents control of an attacking guest rather than host privilege, and S:C (scope changed) captures the guest-to-host crossing. No EPSS score, KEV listing, or POC was supplied, so there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no evidence of active exploitation - this is a Medium-severity defense-in-depth fix, not an emergency. CONFLICT/CAVEAT TO VERIFY: the vendor credits only availability (A:H) with C:N/I:N, yet a stack AND heap buffer overflow is a memory-corruption class that classically permits host memory disclosure or code execution; the A:H-only scoring is conservative and should be verified against the DPDK bugzilla (bug 2027) and upstream patch, because realistic worst-case impact may exceed a host dataplane crash. Overall this ranks below the sibling CVE-2026-86565 (8.8) in the same advisory bundle and is a priority only for deployments actually running NFP SmartNICs with vDPA.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker who controls a guest VM whose virtio datapath is accelerated by a Netronome/Corigine NFP SmartNIC using DPDK's nfp vDPA driver crafts malicious virtqueue descriptors or configuration data that overflow stack and heap buffers in the host-side driver. Because the vulnerable code runs on the host and processes guest-controlled input, the overflow corrupts host DPDK process memory across the VM boundary (S:C), crashing the host dataplane (A:H) and denying service to all tenants on that host. No public exploit code was identified in the provided data.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 14, 2026

Stack and heap buffer overflow in DPDK's nfp vDPA driver for Netronome/Corigine NFP SmartNICs allows a malicious guest VM with control of the virtqueue to corrupt host memory, leading to high integrity and availability impact and low confidentiality impact. The vulnerability is only exploitable when the host runs DPDK with the nfp vDPA driver active on NFP SmartNIC hardware, and the attacker must be positioned as a local guest able to drive the guest-side virtqueue. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis, and the vendor-rated CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5 (Medium); however, our independent assessment assigns a higher impact vector of AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor patch referenced in the DPDK Bugzilla advisory (https://bugs.dpdk.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2027) and the oss-security advisory (https://seclists.org/oss-sec/2026/q4/158). Consult the advisory for the exact patched DPDK version. As a workaround, disable the nfp vDPA driver if not required, or avoid using vDPA acceleration with untrusted guest VMs; this may reduce performance and offload capabilities. Additionally, restrict guest access to the vDPA device to only trusted VMs, as the attacker must control a guest VM to trigger the overflow. Hosts without NFP SmartNICs are not affected and require no action.

Affected ProductsAI

The vulnerability affects DPDK when the nfp vDPA driver is used with Netronome/Corigine NFP SmartNICs. The exact affected version range is not specified in the provided data; however, the vendor advisory at https://bugs.dpdk.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2027 and the oss-security advisory at https://seclists.org/oss-sec/2026/q4/158 should be consulted for the patched version. Hosts not using NFP SmartNICs or not enabling vDPA acceleration are not affected. No CPE data was provided.

Affects your stack

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

Technical ContextAI · show details

DPDK (Data Plane Development Kit) is a set of user-space libraries and drivers for fast packet processing. The nfp vDPA driver provides virtio data path acceleration for Netronome/Corigine NFP SmartNICs, allowing guest VMs to offload virtqueue processing to the SmartNIC. The vulnerability is a buffer overflow (both stack and heap) in the handling of virtqueue descriptors, which can be triggered by a malicious guest crafting malformed descriptors. This is a memory corruption issue (out-of-bounds write class) that occurs because the driver fails to properly validate descriptor lengths or buffer sizes before copying data. The CVSS vector indicates a scope change (S:C), meaning the vulnerable guest component can affect the host's memory, and requires local access (AV:L) with low privileges (PR:L), consistent with a guest VM attacker. No user interaction is required (UI:N).

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (CNA) PRIMARY 6.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI 8.7 HIGH

Guest-controlled input overflows host driver buffers (AV:L/PR:L/S:C); a stack/heap write overflow warrants I:H and A:H with possible C:L memory disclosure, exceeding the vendor's A:H-only scoring.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:H/SA:H

Primary rating from Vendor (CNA).

CVSS VectorVendor

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

Lifecycle Timeline

1
CVSS changed
Oct 14, 2026 - 18:22 NVD
6.5 (MEDIUM)

Description PRE-NVD

Disclosed via oss-security. NVD scoring and full description are pending.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
niche Netronome/Corigine NFP SmartNIC vDPA driver, narrow hardware footprint
Data Quality
4 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 0.1%
Patch available No
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
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium
Technical Impact
Partial

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +32
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

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