# CVE-2026-97573: bnxt_en: Handle buffer allocation failure in bnxt_rx_ring_reset()

> A missing error check in the bnxt_en network driver can lead to a null pointer dereference and system crash when buffer allocation fails.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104792, BELL-CVE-2026-97573, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97573, GHSA-fg85-697p-x487, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97573

## What is CVE-2026-97573?

CVE-2026-97573 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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:

bnxt_en: Handle buffer allocation failure in bnxt_rx_ring_reset()

bnxt_rx_ring_reset() frees the ring buffers and then reallocates them,
ignoring the result.

bnxt_alloc_one_rx_ring() can fail in bnxt_alloc_one_tpa_info_data(), which
returns -ENOMEM on the first failed allocation and leaves the remaining
rxr->rx_tpa[] entries zeroed.

The error isn't propagated up, so the loop in bnxt_rx_ring_reset
continues and at the end the code re-enables TPA with partially
unallocated rx_tpa array.

This means that when the agg_id from hardware is mapped to a SW index in
rxr->rx_tpa[], an uninitialized slot can be chosen which would hand a
zero DMA address to the device.

Fix this by falling back to a global reset, which is what the existing
code already does when other functions fail, but unlike the other
failure cases this particular failure has to return because TPA can't
be re-enabled since the allocation failed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97573?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97573?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97573 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97573 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97573 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97573 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97573 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97573/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97573/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97573
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97573
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97573

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97573/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.