CVE-2021-46916: ixgbe: Fix NULL pointer dereference in ethtool loopback test

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-02-27 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ixgbe: Fix NULL pointer dereference in ethtool loopback test The ixgbe driver currently generates a NULL pointer dereference when performing the ethtool loopback test. This is due to the fact that there isn't a q_vector associated with the test ring when it is setup as interrupts are not normally added to the test rings. To address this I have added code that will check for a q_vector before returning a napi_id value. If a q_vector is not present it will return a value of 0.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.11.0 before 5.11.16 — fixed in 5.11.16

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.11.16. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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