net/mlx5e: Fix race condition during IPSec ESN update

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-23440
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerLinux
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-04-03 16:16:26 UTC
Updated2026-04-07 13:21:09 UTC
DescriptionIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Fix race condition during IPSec ESN update In IPSec full offload mode, the device reports an ESN (Extended Sequence Number) wrap event to the driver. The driver validates this event by querying the IPSec ASO and checking that the esn_event_arm field is 0x0, which indicates an event has occurred. After handling the event, the driver must re-arm the context by setting esn_event_arm back to 0x1. A race condition exists in this handling path. After validating the event, the driver calls mlx5_accel_esp_modify_xfrm() to update the kernel's xfrm state. This function temporarily releases and re-acquires the xfrm state lock. So, need to acknowledge the event first by setting esn_event_arm to 0x1. This prevents the driver from reprocessing the same ESN update if the hardware sends events for other reason. Since the next ESN update only occurs after nearly 2^31 packets are received, there's no risk of missing an update, as it will happen long after this handling has finished. Processing the event twice causes the ESN high-order bits (esn_msb) to be incremented incorrectly. The driver then programs the hardware with this invalid ESN state, which leads to anti-replay failures and a complete halt of IPSec traffic. Fix this by re-arming the ESN event immediately after it is validated, before calling mlx5_accel_esp_modify_xfrm(). This ensures that any spurious, duplicate events are correctly ignored, closing the race window.

Risk And Classification

EPSS: 0.000180000 probability, percentile 0.046140000 (date 2026-04-07)

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Linux Linux affected fef06678931ff67b158d337b581e5cf5ca40a3a3 3dffc083292e6872787bd7e34b957627622f9af4 git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected fef06678931ff67b158d337b581e5cf5ca40a3a3 2051c709dce92da3550040aa7949cd5a9c89b14e git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected fef06678931ff67b158d337b581e5cf5ca40a3a3 96c9c25b74686ac2de15921c9ad30c5ef13af8cd git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected fef06678931ff67b158d337b581e5cf5ca40a3a3 8d625c15471fb8780125eaef682983a96af77bdc git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected fef06678931ff67b158d337b581e5cf5ca40a3a3 beb6e2e5976a128b0cccf10d158124422210c5ef git Not specified
CNA Linux Linux affected 6.4 Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.4 semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.6.130 6.6.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.12.78 6.12.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.18.20 6.18.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 6.19.10 6.19.* semver Not specified
CNA Linux Linux unaffected 7.0-rc5 * original_commit_for_fix Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
git.kernel.org/stable/c/3dffc083292e6872787bd7e34b957627622f9af4 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/96c9c25b74686ac2de15921c9ad30c5ef13af8cd 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/beb6e2e5976a128b0cccf10d158124422210c5ef 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d625c15471fb8780125eaef682983a96af77bdc 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
git.kernel.org/stable/c/2051c709dce92da3550040aa7949cd5a9c89b14e 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 git.kernel.org
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