Critical · published July 19, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ixgbevf: fix use-after-free in VEPA multicast source pruning
ixgbevf_clean_rx_irq() prunes frames whose source MAC matches the VF's
own address (VEPA multicast workaround) by freeing the skb and
continuing to the next descriptor:
dev_kfree_skb_irq(skb);
continue;
The skb pointer is declared outside the while loop and persists across
iterations. Because the continue skips the "skb = NULL" reset at the
bottom of the loop, the next iteration enters the "else if (skb)" path
and calls ixgbevf_add_rx_frag() on the freed skb, dereferencing
skb_shinfo(skb)->nr_frags - a use-after-free in NAPI softirq context.
The sibling driver iavf already handles this correctly by nulling the
pointer before continuing. Apply the same pattern here.
I do not have ixgbevf hardware; the bug was found by static analysis
(scan_drop_continue_loops.py + semgrep drop_continue_in_loop, multi-tool
corroboration with the highest score in the scan). The UAF was confirmed
under KASAN by loading a test module that reproduces the exact code
pattern (alloc skb, kfree_skb, then read skb_shinfo(skb)->nr_frags):
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ixgbevf_uaf_test_init+0x100/0x1000
Read of size 8 at addr 000000006163ae78 by task insmod/30
freed 208-byte region [000000006163adc0, 000000006163ae90)
QEMU emulates igb (82576) but not ixgbe (82599), and the igbvf VF
driver does not include the VEPA source pruning path, so a full
end-to-end reproduction with emulated hardware was not possible.
| Product | Versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 3.19, < 5.10.258 | 5.10.258 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 5.11, < 5.15.209 | 5.15.209 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 5.16, < 6.1.175 | 6.1.175 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.2, < 6.6.142 | 6.6.142 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.7, < 6.12.92 | 6.12.92 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.13, < 6.18.34 | 6.18.34 |
| linux/linux_kernel | ≥ 6.19, < 7.0.11 | 7.0.11 |
| linux/linux_kernel | all versions | — |
| linux/linux_kernel | all versions | — |
| linux/linux_kernel | all versions | — |
| linux/linux_kernel | all versions | — |