In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler
rds_rdma_cm_event_handler_cmn() assigns trans only when the RDMA
device is an InfiniBand CA (RDMA_NODE_IB_CA). On any other device
type, e.g. an iWARP RNIC such as siw, trans stays uninitialized, but
the event switch dereferences it: unconditionally in the
RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST case via trans->cm_handle_connect(),
and (with a connection context) in the ROUTE_RESOLVED and
ESTABLISHED cases.
An RDS listener on an iWARP device therefore crashes the kernel as
soon as a connect request arrives: with CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO
the wild load becomes a NULL dereference at offset 0xa0
(&trans->cm_handle_connect) in the iw_cm_wq workqueue.
GCC masks the bug in default builds by folding the uninitialized
load into &rds_ib_transport; Clang-built kernels take the real
uninitialized path and oops.
The active side can land on a non-IB device too: the id that
rds_ib_conn_path_connect() creates is not restricted to a node type,
so rdma_resolve_addr() binds it to whichever device serves the local
address, and an iWARP RNIC on the same netdev qualifies. The crash
there is different: resolving a route on an iWARP id never fills in
cm_id->route.path_rec, and the ROUTE_RESOLVED case writes
path_rec[0].sl before it calls into the transport.
The iWARP transport was dropped long ago and IB is the only
transport left, so make that explicit: initialize trans to
&rds_ib_transport at declaration, drop the conditional assignment,
reject a connect request that arrives on a non-IB device, and drop a
connection whose address resolved to one instead of resolving a
route on it. The rejection is limited to RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST
on purpose: a non-zero return from the handler makes rdma_cm destroy
the id the event was delivered on, which is right for the request's
freshly created id but would free a connection id that RDS still owns
for any other event. On the active side the id stays ic->i_cm_id and
the connection's shutdown destroys it, so that case returns 0.
[achender: reject only on RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST instead of
bailing out for every event on a non-IB device, so that rdma_cm does
not destroy connection ids RDS still tracks; drop a connection whose
address resolved to a non-IB device before a route is resolved on it;
changelog adjusted]
net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler
rds_rdma_cm_event_handler_cmn() assigns trans only when the RDMA
device is an InfiniBand CA (RDMA_NODE_IB_CA). On any other device
type, e.g. an iWARP RNIC such as siw, trans stays uninitialized, but
the event switch dereferences it: unconditionally in the
RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST case via trans->cm_handle_connect(),
and (with a connection context) in the ROUTE_RESOLVED and
ESTABLISHED cases.
An RDS listener on an iWARP device therefore crashes the kernel as
soon as a connect request arrives: with CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO
the wild load becomes a NULL dereference at offset 0xa0
(&trans->cm_handle_connect) in the iw_cm_wq workqueue.
GCC masks the bug in default builds by folding the uninitialized
load into &rds_ib_transport; Clang-built kernels take the real
uninitialized path and oops.
The active side can land on a non-IB device too: the id that
rds_ib_conn_path_connect() creates is not restricted to a node type,
so rdma_resolve_addr() binds it to whichever device serves the local
address, and an iWARP RNIC on the same netdev qualifies. The crash
there is different: resolving a route on an iWARP id never fills in
cm_id->route.path_rec, and the ROUTE_RESOLVED case writes
path_rec[0].sl before it calls into the transport.
The iWARP transport was dropped long ago and IB is the only
transport left, so make that explicit: initialize trans to
&rds_ib_transport at declaration, drop the conditional assignment,
reject a connect request that arrives on a non-IB device, and drop a
connection whose address resolved to one instead of resolving a
route on it. The rejection is limited to RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST
on purpose: a non-zero return from the handler makes rdma_cm destroy
the id the event was delivered on, which is right for the request's
freshly created id but would free a connection id that RDS still owns
for any other event. On the active side the id stays ic->i_cm_id and
the connection's shutdown destroys it, so that case returns 0.
[achender: reject only on RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST instead of
bailing out for every event on a non-IB device, so that rdma_cm does
not destroy connection ids RDS still tracks; drop a connection whose
address resolved to a non-IB device before a route is resolved on it;
changelog adjusted]
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 28 Oct 2026 20:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Linux linux
|
|
| Vendors & Products |
Linux linux
|
Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler rds_rdma_cm_event_handler_cmn() assigns trans only when the RDMA device is an InfiniBand CA (RDMA_NODE_IB_CA). On any other device type, e.g. an iWARP RNIC such as siw, trans stays uninitialized, but the event switch dereferences it: unconditionally in the RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST case via trans->cm_handle_connect(), and (with a connection context) in the ROUTE_RESOLVED and ESTABLISHED cases. An RDS listener on an iWARP device therefore crashes the kernel as soon as a connect request arrives: with CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO the wild load becomes a NULL dereference at offset 0xa0 (&trans->cm_handle_connect) in the iw_cm_wq workqueue. GCC masks the bug in default builds by folding the uninitialized load into &rds_ib_transport; Clang-built kernels take the real uninitialized path and oops. The active side can land on a non-IB device too: the id that rds_ib_conn_path_connect() creates is not restricted to a node type, so rdma_resolve_addr() binds it to whichever device serves the local address, and an iWARP RNIC on the same netdev qualifies. The crash there is different: resolving a route on an iWARP id never fills in cm_id->route.path_rec, and the ROUTE_RESOLVED case writes path_rec[0].sl before it calls into the transport. The iWARP transport was dropped long ago and IB is the only transport left, so make that explicit: initialize trans to &rds_ib_transport at declaration, drop the conditional assignment, reject a connect request that arrives on a non-IB device, and drop a connection whose address resolved to one instead of resolving a route on it. The rejection is limited to RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST on purpose: a non-zero return from the handler makes rdma_cm destroy the id the event was delivered on, which is right for the request's freshly created id but would free a connection id that RDS still owns for any other event. On the active side the id stays ic->i_cm_id and the connection's shutdown destroys it, so that case returns 0. [achender: reject only on RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST instead of bailing out for every event on a non-IB device, so that rdma_cm does not destroy connection ids RDS still tracks; drop a connection whose address resolved to a non-IB device before a route is resolved on it; changelog adjusted] | |
| Title | net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-10-28T10:35:18.050Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.398Z
Link: CVE-2026-99166
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-28T11:17:37.043
Modified: 2026-10-28T11:17:37.043
Link: CVE-2026-99166
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-10-28T20:00:16Z
Weaknesses
No weakness.