Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9 ice ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9. It has been classified as critical. This impacts the function ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring of the component ice. Performing a manipulation of the argument tstamp_ring results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2026-53008. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.9. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring of the component ice. The manipulation of the argument tstamp_ring with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix race condition in TX timestamp ring cleanup Fix a race condition between ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() and ice_tx_map() that can cause a NULL pointer dereference. ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring currently clears the ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME flag after NULLing the tstamp_ring. This could allow a concurrent ice_tx_map call on another CPU to dereference the tstamp_ring, which could lead to a NULL pointer dereference. CPU A:ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() | CPU B:ice_tx_map() --------------------------------|--------------------------------- tx_ring->tstamp_ring = NULL | | ice_is_txtime_cfg() -> true | tstamp_ring = tx_ring->tstamp_ring | tstamp_ring->count // NULL deref! flags &= ~ICE_TX_FLAGS_TXTIME | Fix by: 1. Reordering ice_free_tx_tstamp_ring() to clear the flag before NULLing the pointer, with smp_wmb() to ensure proper ordering. 2. Adding smp_rmb() in ice_tx_map() after the flag check to order the flag read before the pointer read, using READ_ONCE() for the pointer, and adding a NULL check as a safety net. 3. Converting tx_ring->flags from u8 to DECLARE_BITMAP() and using atomic bitops (set_bit(), clear_bit(), test_bit()) for all flag operations throughout the driver: - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_XDP - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG1 - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_VLAN_L2TAG2 - ICE_TX_RING_FLAGS_TXTIME

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-53008 since 06/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading to version 7.0.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 097409d20465723283632515df73038a4a853eda/7c72ec18c2a4111204c2e915f8e4f6d849ce9398 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3
• 7.0.4
• 7.0.5
• 7.0.6
• 7.0.7
• 7.0.8
• 7.0.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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