CVE-2026-43468: net/mlx5: Fix deadlock between devlink lock and esw->wq

Published May 8, 2026
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/mlx5: Fix deadlock between devlink lock and esw->wq

esw->workqueue executes eswfunctionschangedeventhandler -> eswvfschangedeventhandler and acquires the devlink lock.

.eswitchmodeset (acquires devlink lock in devlinknlpredoit) -> mlx5devlinkeswitchmodeset -> mlx5eswitchdisablelocked -> mlx5eswitcheventhandlerunregister -> flushworkqueue deadlocks when eswvfschangedeventhandler executes.

Fix that by no longer flushing the work to avoid the deadlock, and using a generation counter to keep track of work relevance. This avoids an old handler manipulating an esw that has undergone one or more mode changes: - the counter is incremented in mlx5eswitcheventhandlerunregister. - the counter is read and passed to the ephemeral mlx5hostwork struct. - the work handler takes the devlink lock and bails out if the current generation is different than the one it was scheduled to operate on. - mlx5eswitchcleanup does the final draining before destroying the wq.

No longer flushing the workqueue has the side effect of maybe no longer cancelling pending vportchangehandler work items, but that's ok since those are disabled elsewhere: - mlx5eswitchdisablelocked disables the vport eq notifier. - mlx5eswvportdisable disarms the HW EQ notification and marks vport->enabled under statelock to false to prevent pending vport handler from doing anything. - mlx5eswitchcleanup destroys the workqueue and makes sure all events are disabled/finished.

Affected Software

9 affected components
Linux Linux kernel
Linux Linux kernel>=6.0<6.1.167
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.130
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.78
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.18.19
Linux Linux kernel>=6.19<6.19.9
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc1
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc2
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc3

Event History

May 8, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:22 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:22 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:16 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-43468?

CVE-2026-43468 is classified as a moderate severity vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-43468?

To fix CVE-2026-43468, update your Linux kernel to the latest stable version where the vulnerability is patched.

3

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-43468?

CVE-2026-43468 is a deadlock vulnerability that occurs between devlink lock and the esw->work_queue in the Linux kernel.

4

Which software versions are affected by CVE-2026-43468?

CVE-2026-43468 affects specific versions of the Linux kernel but details on exact affected versions can be found in the release notes.

5

Can CVE-2026-43468 be exploited remotely?

CVE-2026-43468 does not have a remote exploitation vector since it pertains to kernel-level operations, primarily affecting local system stability.

Contact

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