CVE-2026-97569 — bnxt_en: Prevent queue stop with deferred completions
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bnxt_en: Prevent queue stop with deferred completions When the driver receives a burst of packets, it can mark a BD with the NO_CMPL bit to defer completions. The expectation is that the last packet in the ring will have this bit unset and the completion generated by that packet will cleanup that packet and the ones preceding it. This helps to reduce the number of completions fired. The suppressed completions are controlled by the driver and the number of packets with suppressed completions scales with the size of the ring. SW USO packets, on the other hand, have an upper bound on the maximum number of BDs which can be consumed which does not scale with the ring size. So, for small rings it is possible that: a burst of packets is handed to the driver, the driver defers completions for all of the packets because the number of free descriptors stays above the threshold in the driver. Then, a USO packet arrives, but the number of BDs available is not enough and the USO code exits early. In this case, you end up in a state where the ring is full of packets with their completions suppressed, which can cause the queue to stop and never be restarted. Assuming default CONFIG_MAX_SKB_FRAGS, this is only possible for small rings (<= 457 descriptors, below the driver default value) when a burst of packets fills the ring, followed by a large USO packet that can't fit. For larger rings, the delta between the completion suppression threshold and the BDs required for SW USO is large enough that completions will fire and this case is unreachable. This issue was pointed out by Sashiko and while it seems fairly unlikely given that the queue size must be small to trigger this, it is indeed possible. Fix this by tracking the last BD which deferred completions and centralizing the logic for deciding when to ring the doorbell. The NO_CMPL bit is now cleared in bnxt_txr_db_kick(), so every doorbell site is covered, including the SW USO early exit. This guarantees the ring always ends in a BD which generates a completion to clean it and wake the queue.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 15, 2026 → Oct 16, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.21%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Not enough vector or weakness data: use the affected application’s logs as a starting point.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Record published
- Affected products added · linux/linux
- Source status changed · → Received
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
2 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98431 RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98430 RDMA/efa: Keep admin queues alive while IRQ is registered 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98429 RDMA/efa: Keep EQ resources alive while IRQ is registered 2d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98428 ALSA: usb: 6fire: Avoid embedded URBs 2d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No CVSS score published by NVD, the CNA, CISA or GitHub so far.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No CWE classification.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-97569 is "bnxt_en: Prevent queue stop with deferred completions", rated Unknown. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. EPSS 0.21% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
Comments
Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.
No comments yet.
Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.