CVE-2026-43199 net/mlx5e: Fix "scheduling while atomic" in IPsec MAC address query

High 7.5 Published Updated

A race condition in the Linux kernel mlx5 driver causes a scheduling while atomic bug, leading to system instability or denial of service.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Not needed
Attackable
Over the internet
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
Available

What is CVE-2026-43199?

CVE-2026-43199 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/mlx5e: Fix "scheduling while atomic" in IPsec MAC address query

Fix a "scheduling while atomic" bug in mlx5e_ipsec_init_macs() by replacing mlx5_query_mac_address() with ether_addr_copy() to get the local MAC address directly from netdev->dev_addr.

The issue occurs because mlx5_query_mac_address() queries the hardware which involves mlx5_cmd_exec() that can sleep, but it is called from the mlx5e_ipsec_handle_event workqueue which runs in atomic context.

The MAC address is already available in netdev->dev_addr, so no need to query hardware. This avoids the sleeping call and resolves the bug.

Call trace: BUG: scheduling while atomic: kworker/u112:2/69344/0x00000200 __schedule+0x7ab/0xa20 schedule+0x1c/0xb0 schedule_timeout+0x6e/0xf0 __wait_for_common+0x91/0x1b0 cmd_exec+0xa85/0xff0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_cmd_exec+0x1f/0x50 [mlx5_core] mlx5_query_nic_vport_mac_address+0x7b/0xd0 [mlx5_core] mlx5_query_mac_address+0x19/0x30 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_ipsec_init_macs+0xc1/0x720 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_ipsec_build_accel_xfrm_attrs+0x422/0x670 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_ipsec_handle_event+0x2b9/0x460 [mlx5_core] process_one_work+0x178/0x2e0 worker_thread+0x2ea/0x430

Weakness: CWE-362

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43199?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-43199?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-43199 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as AZL-85926, BELL-CVE-2026-43199, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43199, GHSA-cvxc-xfv3-gf64, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43199, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43199.

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