CVE-2026-99078
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Mellanox network driver (mlx5e). When processing high-speed network traffic using XDP (eXpress Data Path) sockets under low-memory conditions, a failure during receive queue replenishment can cause previously freed memory buffers to be released again through stale pointers. This double-free condition leads to memory corruption, which can cause a kernel crash and result in a denial of service.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate because exploitation requires specific Mellanox network hardware and an active AF_XDP zero-copy socket deployment, which is not enabled by default in Red Hat Enterprise Linux. In addition, reaching the vulnerable path requires inducing extreme memory pressure during queue refill operations, making exploitation difficult and confining the primary blast radius to a host denial of service. Deployments that do not utilize Mellanox network adapters or do not deploy AF_XDP sockets are unaffected.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.9 | N/A | 9.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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