Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: ethernet: oa_tc6: fix tx skb race condition between reference pointers
There are two skb pointers to manage tx skb's enqueued from n/w stack.
waiting_tx_skb pointer points to the tx skb which needs to be processed
and ongoing_tx_skb pointer points to the tx skb which is being processed.
SPI thread prepares the tx data chunks from the tx skb pointed by the
ongoing_tx_skb pointer. When the tx skb pointed by the ongoing_tx_skb is
processed, the tx skb pointed by the waiting_tx_skb is assigned to
ongoing_tx_skb and the waiting_tx_skb pointer is assigned with NULL.
Whenever there is a new tx skb from n/w stack, it will be assigned to
waiting_tx_skb pointer if it is NULL. Enqueuing and processing of a tx skb
handled in two different threads.
Consider a scenario where the SPI thread processed an ongoing_tx_skb and
it moves next tx skb from waiting_tx_skb pointer to ongoing_tx_skb pointer
without doing any NULL check. At this time, if the waiting_tx_skb pointer
is NULL then ongoing_tx_skb pointer is also assigned with NULL. After
that, if a new tx skb is assigned to waiting_tx_skb pointer by the n/w
stack and there is a chance to overwrite the tx skb pointer with NULL in
the SPI thread. Finally one of the tx skb will be left as unhandled,
resulting packet missing and memory leak.
- Consider the below scenario where the TXC reported from the previous
transfer is 10 and ongoing_tx_skb holds an tx ethernet frame which can be
transported in 20 TXCs and waiting_tx_skb is still NULL.
tx_credits = 10; /* 21 are filled in the previous transfer */
ongoing_tx_skb = 20;
waiting_tx_skb = NULL; /* Still NULL */
- So, (tc6->ongoing_tx_skb || tc6->waiting_tx_skb) becomes true.
- After oa_tc6_prepare_spi_tx_buf_for_tx_skbs()
ongoing_tx_skb = 10;
waiting_tx_skb = NULL; /* Still NULL */
- Perform SPI transfer.
- Process SPI rx buffer to get the TXC from footers.
- Now let's assume previously filled 21 TXCs are freed so we are good to
transport the next remaining 10 tx chunks from ongoing_tx_skb.
tx_credits = 21;
ongoing_tx_skb = 10;
waiting_tx_skb = NULL;
- So, (tc6->ongoing_tx_skb || tc6->waiting_tx_skb) becomes true again.
- In the oa_tc6_prepare_spi_tx_buf_for_tx_skbs()
ongoing_tx_skb = NULL;
waiting_tx_skb = NULL;
- Now the below bad case might happen,
Thread1 (oa_tc6_start_xmit) Thread2 (oa_tc6_spi_thread_handler)
--------------------------- -----------------------------------
- if waiting_tx_skb is NULL
- if ongoing_tx_skb is NULL
- ongoing_tx_skb = waiting_tx_skb
- waiting_tx_skb = skb
- waiting_tx_skb = NULL
...
- ongoing_tx_skb = NULL
- if waiting_tx_skb is NULL
- waiting_tx_skb = skb
To overcome the above issue, protect the moving of tx skb reference from
waiting_tx_skb pointer to ongoing_tx_skb pointer and assigning new tx skb
to waiting_tx_skb pointer, so that the other thread can't access the
waiting_tx_skb pointer until the current thread completes moving the tx
skb reference safely.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.12 | 6.12.7 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | linux | 6.12.8-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.8-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +10 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-101.33.4.3.el10uek | ELSA-2025-20530, ELSA-2025-20480 |
Advisories 3
- WID-SEC-2025-0047 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026
- ELSA-2025-20530 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 18, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20480 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 17, 2025