CVE-2026-23441: net/mlx5e: Prevent concurrent access to IPSec ASO context

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-23441 is a medium (CVSS 4.7) vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.09% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 0.4% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 03-04-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 11-05-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Prevent concurrent access to IPSec ASO context The query or updating IPSec offload object is through Access ASO WQE. The driver uses a single mlx5e_ipsec_aso struct for each PF, which contains a shared DMA-mapped context for all ASO operations. A race condition exists because the ASO spinlock is released before the hardware has finished processing WQE. If a second operation is initiated immediately after, it overwrites the shared context in the DMA area. When the first operation's completion is processed later, it reads this corrupted context, leading to unexpected behavior and incorrect results. This commit fixes the race by introducing a private context within each IPSec offload object. The shared ASO context is now copied to this private context while the ASO spinlock is held. Subsequent processing uses this saved, per-object context, ensuring its integrity is maintained.

• CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper SynchronizationThe product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.