CVE-2025-40104
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-10-30

Last updated on: 2025-10-30

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ixgbevf: fix mailbox API compatibility by negotiating supported features There was backward compatibility in the terms of mailbox API. Various drivers from various OSes supporting 10G adapters from Intel portfolio could easily negotiate mailbox API. This convention has been broken since introducing API 1.4. Commit 0062e7cc955e ("ixgbevf: add VF IPsec offload code") added support for IPSec which is specific only for the kernel ixgbe driver. None of the rest of the Intel 10G PF/VF drivers supports it. And actually lack of support was not included in the IPSec implementation - there were no such code paths. No possibility to negotiate support for the feature was introduced along with introduction of the feature itself. Commit 339f28964147 ("ixgbevf: Add support for new mailbox communication between PF and VF") increasing API version to 1.5 did the same - it introduced code supported specifically by the PF ESX driver. It altered API version for the VF driver in the same time not touching the version defined for the PF ixgbe driver. It led to additional discrepancies, as the code provided within API 1.6 cannot be supported for Linux ixgbe driver as it causes crashes. The issue was noticed some time ago and mitigated by Jake within the commit d0725312adf5 ("ixgbevf: stop attempting IPSEC offload on Mailbox API 1.5"). As a result we have regression for IPsec support and after increasing API to version 1.6 ixgbevf driver stopped to support ESX MBX. To fix this mess add new mailbox op asking PF driver about supported features. Basing on a response determine whether to set support for IPSec and ESX-specific enhanced mailbox. New mailbox op, for compatibility purposes, must be added within new API revision, as API version of OOT PF & VF drivers is already increased to 1.6 and doesn't incorporate features negotiate op. Features negotiation mechanism gives possibility to be extended with new features when needed in the future.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-10-30
Last Modified
2025-10-30
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-10-30
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-40104
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
intel ixgbevf *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability involves the Linux kernel's ixgbevf driver for Intel 10G network adapters. The issue is related to backward compatibility problems in the mailbox API used for communication between Physical Functions (PF) and Virtual Functions (VF). Changes introduced in API versions 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 caused discrepancies and incompatibilities, particularly with support for IPSec offload and ESX-specific features. These incompatibilities could cause crashes and loss of functionality. The fix involved adding a new mailbox operation to negotiate supported features between PF and VF drivers, restoring compatibility and allowing future feature extensions.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can impact systems using Intel 10G network adapters with the Linux ixgbevf driver by causing crashes or loss of support for certain features like IPSec offload and ESX-specific mailbox communication. This can lead to degraded network performance, instability, or failure to utilize security features properly, potentially affecting system reliability and security.


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