CVE-2026-23173
Vulnerability Scoring
Status: Received on 14 Feb 2026, 16:15 UTC
Published on: 14 Feb 2026, 16:15 UTC
CVSS Release:
CVE-2026-23173: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: TC, delete flows only for existing peers When deleting TC steering flows, iterate only over actual devcom peers instead of assuming all possible ports exist. This avoids touching non-existent peers and ensures cleanup is limited to devices the driver is currently connected to. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 133c8a067 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP CPU: 19 UID: 0 PID: 2169 Comm: tc Not tainted 6.18.0+ #156 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:mlx5e_tc_del_fdb_peers_flow+0xbe/0x200 [mlx5_core] Code: 00 00 a8 08 74 a8 49 8b 46 18 f6 c4 02 74 9f 4c 8d bf a0 12 00 00 4c 89 ff e8 0e e7 96 e1 49 8b 44 24 08 49 8b 0c 24 4c 89 ff <48> 89 41 08 48 89 08 49 89 2c 24 49 89 5c 24 08 e8 7d ce 96 e1 49 RSP: 0018:ff11000143867528 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: dead000000000122 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: ff11000143691580 RSI: ff110001026e5000 RDI: ff11000106f3d2a0 RBP: dead000000000100 R08: 00000000000003fd R09: 0000000000000002 R10: ff11000101c75690 R11: ff1100085faea178 R12: ff11000115f0ae78 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ff11000115f0a800 R15: ff11000106f3d2a0 FS: 00007f35236bf740(0000) GS:ff110008dc809000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000008 CR3: 0000000157a01001 CR4: 0000000000373eb0 Call Trace: <TASK> mlx5e_tc_del_flow+0x46/0x270 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_flow_put+0x25/0x50 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_delete_flower+0x2a6/0x3e0 [mlx5_core] tc_setup_cb_reoffload+0x20/0x80 fl_reoffload+0x26f/0x2f0 [cls_flower] ? mlx5e_tc_reoffload_flows_work+0xc0/0xc0 [mlx5_core] ? mlx5e_tc_reoffload_flows_work+0xc0/0xc0 [mlx5_core] tcf_block_playback_offloads+0x9e/0x1c0 tcf_block_unbind+0x7b/0xd0 tcf_block_setup+0x186/0x1d0 tcf_block_offload_cmd.isra.0+0xef/0x130 tcf_block_offload_unbind+0x43/0x70 __tcf_block_put+0x85/0x160 ingress_destroy+0x32/0x110 [sch_ingress] __qdisc_destroy+0x44/0x100 qdisc_graft+0x22b/0x610 tc_get_qdisc+0x183/0x4d0 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x2d7/0x3d0 ? rtnl_calcit.isra.0+0x100/0x100 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 netlink_unicast+0x249/0x320 ? __alloc_skb+0x102/0x1f0 netlink_sendmsg+0x1e3/0x420 __sock_sendmsg+0x38/0x60 ____sys_sendmsg+0x1ef/0x230 ? copy_msghdr_from_user+0x6c/0xa0 ___sys_sendmsg+0x7f/0xc0 ? ___sys_recvmsg+0x8a/0xc0 ? __sys_sendto+0x119/0x180 __sys_sendmsg+0x61/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x55/0x640 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 RIP: 0033:0x7f35238bb764 Code: 15 b9 86 0c 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff eb bf 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d e5 08 0d 00 00 74 13 b8 2e 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 4c c3 0f 1f 00 55 48 89 e5 48 83 ec 20 89 55 RSP: 002b:00007ffed4c35638 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002e RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000055a2efcc75e0 RCX: 00007f35238bb764 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00007ffed4c356a0 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007ffed4c35710 R08: 0000000000000010 R09: 00007f3523984b20 R10: 0000000000000004 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 00007ffed4c35790 R13: 000000006947df8f R14: 000055a2efcc75e0 R15: 00007ffed4c35780
The exploitability of CVE-2026-23173 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
No exploitability data is available for CVE-2026-23173.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-23173, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-23173, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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