CVE-2025-22086
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.3%
Published
Apr 16, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A flaw in how the Linux kernel handles certain network card completions can make the whole computer crash.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Memory Corruption
- Remediation
- Upgrade
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Incorrect comparison of QP numbers from CQE (FW) against mlx5_ib_qp instead of mlx5_core_qp causes mlx5_poll_one() to select the wrong QP when handling completions, resulting in NULL pointer dereference during mlx5_ib_poll_cq execution on QPs 0/1.
Why it matters to the business
Systems using RDMA over mlx5 hardware may experience unexpected kernel crashes and service interruptions, increasing downtime and operational risk especially in high-performance computing or storage environments.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker with local access or ability to trigger RDMA traffic manipulates completion queue events so that the mismatched QP lookup occurs during ib_cq_poll_work, dereferencing a NULL pointer and crashing the kernel; listed threat actors have targeted similar kernel privilege-escalation paths in recent Linux RDMA and networking flaws.
How to fix it
Apply kernel update containing commit 3b97d77049856865ac5ce8ffbc6e716928310f7f; for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 appstream packages upgrade firefox and related debug packages to 0:128.5.1-1.el9_5.
How to confirm the fix worked
Confirm kernel version or package versions match the fixed releases; reproduce RDMA CQE handling under load and verify absence of the NULL dereference oops in dmesg.
Typical attack path
- Obtain local execution or RDMA-capable workload on target
- Trigger completion queue polling via ib-comp-unb-wq worker
- Force CQE processing for QP 0 or 1 where mlx5_ib_qp and mlx5_core_qp numbers differ
- Trigger NULL dereference in mlx5_ib_poll_cq leading to oops
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and dmesg for the NULL pointer dereference oops mentioning mlx5_ib_poll_cq and ib_cq_poll_work; inspect workqueue activity on ib-comp-unb-wq and any RDMA QP handling around QPs 0/1.
- mlx5_ib_poll_cq+0x4c7/0xd90 [mlx5_ib]
- BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000012
- Workqueue: ib-comp-unb-wq ib_cq_poll_work [ib_core]
- CR2: 0000000000000012
- kworker/u62:1
What your security team should do
- Prioritize kernel updates on any hosts exposing mlx5 RDMA interfaces
- Monitor EPSS and KEV status for changes given 560 days since publication
- Restrict untrusted RDMA access until patches are deployed
- Review downstream package dependents for the listed fixed versions
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix mlx5_poll_one() cur_qp update flow When cur_qp isn't NULL, in order to avoid fetching the QP from the radix tree again we check if the next cqe QP is identical to the one we already have. The bug however is that we are checking if the QP is identical by checking the QP number inside the CQE against the QP number inside the mlx5_ib_qp, but that's wrong since the QP number from the CQE is from FW so it should be matched against mlx5_core_qp which is our FW QP number. Otherwise we could use the wrong QP when handling a CQE which could cause the kernel trace below. This issue is mainly noticeable over QPs 0 & 1, since for now they are the only QPs in our driver whereas the QP number inside mlx5_ib_qp doesn't match the QP number inside mlx5_core_qp. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000012 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 7927 Comm: kworker/u62:1 Not tainted 6.14.0-rc3+ #189 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.3-0-ga6ed6b701f0a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Workqueue: ib-comp-unb-wq ib_cq_poll_work [ib_core] RIP: 0010:mlx5_ib_poll_cq+0x4c7/0xd90 [mlx5_ib] Code: 03 00 00 8d 58 ff 21 cb 66 39 d3 74 39 48 c7 c7 3c 89 6e a0 0f b7 db e8 b7 d2 b3 e0 49 8b 86 60 03 00 00 48 c7 c7 4a 89 6e a0 <0f> b7 5c 98 02 e8 9f d2 b3 e0 41 0f b7 86 78 03 00 00 83 e8 01 21 RSP: 0018:ffff88810511bd60 EFLAGS: 00010046 RAX: 0000000000000010 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffff88885fa1b3c0 RDI: ffffffffa06e894a RBP: 00000000000000b0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffff88810511bc10 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff88810d593000 R13: ffff88810e579108 R14: ffff888105146000 R15: 00000000000000b0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88885fa00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000012 CR3: 00000001077e6001 CR4: 0000000000370eb0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x20/0x60 ? page_fault_oops+0x150/0x3e0 ? exc_page_fault+0x74/0x130 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? mlx5_ib_poll_cq+0x4c7/0xd90 [mlx5_ib] __ib_process_cq+0x5a/0x150 [ib_core] ib_cq_poll_work+0x31/0x90 [ib_core] process_one_work+0x169/0x320 worker_thread+0x288/0x3a0 ? work_busy+0xb0/0xb0 kthread+0xd7/0x1f0 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x130/0x130 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x130/0x130 ret_from_fork+0x2d/0x50 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x130/0x130 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK>
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:11 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:11 | linux-6.1 | 0 | 6.1.137-1~deb11u1 |
| Debian:12 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:13 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:13 | linux | 0 | 6.12.25-1 |
| Linux | Kernel | 3.11.0 | 5.4.292 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel | 0 | 6.6.88-3.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel-linus | 0 | 6.6.88-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-virtualbox | 0 | 7.0.24-70.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-xtables-addons | 0 | 3.24-78.mga9 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | kernel-default | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP5_Update_68 | 0 | 1-8.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_11 | 0 | 1-150600.1.3.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_11 | 0 | 1-150600.13.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_1 | 0 | 1-150700.15.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1.150600.12.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1.150700.17.2.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.21.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-coco_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.21.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-source-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.21.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Confidential Computing Technical Preview 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-coco | 0 | 6.4.0-15061.21.coco15sp6.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | kernel-default | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | kernel-source | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | kernel-syms | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | kernel-default | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | kernel-source | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | kernel-syms | 0 | 4.12.14-122.258.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1.150600.12.22.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.37.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.39.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1 |
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