Bug 2516263 (CVE-2026-72411)

Summary: CVE-2026-72411 kernel: net: dsa: mxl862xx: fix use-after-free of DSA ports in crc_err_work
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mxl862xx Digital Subscriber Line (DSA) driver. An issue during the driver's teardown process, specifically when handling MDIO CRC errors, can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability. This allows the system to attempt to access memory that has already been released, potentially causing system instability or a denial of service.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:03:18 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: dsa: mxl862xx: fix use-after-free of DSA ports in crc_err_work

Upon an MDIO CRC error mxl862xx_crc_err_work_fn() walks the DSA ports
and closes the CPU port conduits:

	dsa_switch_for_each_cpu_port(dp, priv->ds)
		dev_close(dp->conduit);

mxl862xx_remove() unregisters the switch before cancelling this work:

	set_bit(MXL862XX_FLAG_WORK_STOPPED, &priv->flags);
	cancel_delayed_work_sync(&priv->stats_work);
	dsa_unregister_switch(ds);
	mxl862xx_host_shutdown(priv);

dsa_unregister_switch() frees the dsa_port objects. If a CRC error
schedules the work during teardown it can run after the ports have been
freed and dereference freed memory.

Guard the port walk with MXL862XX_FLAG_WORK_STOPPED, which is already set
before dsa_unregister_switch(). DSA tears the ports down under
rtnl_lock(), so checking the flag under rtnl_lock() means the work either
runs before teardown and sees valid ports, or runs afterwards, observes
the flag and skips the walk. This mirrors the host_flood_work handler,
which skips torn-down ports under rtnl_lock().