published December 16, 2025
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mlx5: Fix default values in create CQ
Currently, CQs without a completion function are assigned the
mlx5_add_cq_to_tasklet function by default. This is problematic since
only user CQs created through the mlx5_ib driver are intended to use
this function.
Additionally, all CQs that will use doorbells instead of polling for
completions must call mlx5_cq_arm. However, the default CQ creation flow
leaves a valid value in the CQ's arm_db field, allowing FW to send
interrupts to polling-only CQs in certain corner cases.
These two factors would allow a polling-only kernel CQ to be triggered
by an EQ interrupt and call a completion function intended only for user
CQs, causing a null pointer exception.
Some areas in the driver have prevented this issue with one-off fixes
but did not address the root cause.
This patch fixes the described issue by adding defaults to the create CQ
flow. It adds a default dummy completion function to protect against
null pointer exceptions, and it sets an invalid command sequence number
by default in kernel CQs to prevent the FW from sending an interrupt to
the CQ until it is armed. User CQs are responsible for their own
initialization values.
Callers of mlx5_core_create_cq are responsible for changing the
completion function and arming the CQ per their needs.