CVE-2026-23441
Race Condition in Linux mlx5e IPSec Driver Causes Data Corruption
Publication date: 2026-04-03
Last updated on: 2026-04-23
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.2 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.2.1 (inc) to 6.6.130 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.7 (inc) to 6.12.78 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.20 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.19 (inc) to 6.19.10 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-362 | The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's mlx5e driver related to IPSec offload operations. The driver uses a shared context for all IPSec offload operations, but a race condition occurs because the spinlock protecting this context is released before the hardware finishes processing a work queue element (WQE). If a second operation starts immediately after, it overwrites the shared context, causing the first operation to later read corrupted data. This leads to unexpected behavior and incorrect results.
The fix involves creating a private context for each IPSec offload object. The shared context is copied to this private context while the spinlock is held, ensuring that subsequent processing uses an uncorrupted, per-object context and maintains data integrity.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause unexpected behavior and incorrect results in IPSec offload operations within the Linux kernel. Because the shared context can be corrupted due to a race condition, network security functions relying on IPSec offload may malfunction, potentially leading to degraded security or network communication issues.