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CVE-2026-64118
qed: fix double free in qed_cxt_tables_alloc()
Published 2026-07-19 (3 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-64118 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.176-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.176-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.94-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.0.12-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.12-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.0.12-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.12-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
If one of the later PF or VF CID bitmap allocations fails, qed_cid_map_alloc() jumps to cid_map_fail and frees the previously allocated CID bitmaps before returning an error. qed_cxt_tables_alloc() then calls qed_cxt_mngr_free(), which invokes qed_cid_map_free() again. Fix this by setting each CID bitmap pointer to NULL after bitmap_free() to avoid double free. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc3. Runtime reproduction was not attempted because exercising the failing allocation path requires device-specific setup.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_cxt.c
- What this is
- QLOGIC QL4xxx ETHERNET DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Orphan
- Kernel module
- qed
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_ETHERNET|CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_QLOGIC|CONFIG_QED' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w qedPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_ETHERNET, CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_QLOGIC, CONFIG_QED
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-07-19 (3 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 8.4 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.15%, higher than 3.9% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/net
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.4 | 5.10.259 | 9fe030719bd0 |
| 4.4 | 5.15.210 | 06fa8e69019f |
| 4.4 | 6.1.175 | 8cf5e4d2ca6b |
| 4.4 | 6.6.142 | 3904b993cc17 |
| 4.4 | 6.12.92 | bdf678a273ca |
| 4.4 | 6.18.34 | 0e47fc1c9181 |
| 4.4 | 7.0.11 | a04c207f0801 |
| 4.4 | 7.1 | 2bccfb8476ca |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The vulnerable code runs only during PF driver resource initialization (probe or firmware-initiated recovery), reached via local kernel driver bring-up paths rather than network packet processing or remote protocol handlers.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker who can influence system memory pressure (e.g., via local memory exhaustion) can reliably force `bitmap_zalloc()` failures during the multi-step CID bitmap allocation loop, and can also time this with firmware recovery reprobes that re-enter `qed_resc_alloc()`.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- No local account or capability is strictly required if a remote attacker can induce firmware process-kill recovery on an internet-facing QED host, causing automatic re-execution of `qed_resc_alloc()` where post-incident memory pressure can trigger the failing allocation path.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation does not require any victim user action such as opening files or mounting filesystems; driver recovery and re-allocation occur automatically in kernel context once the error/recovery conditions are met.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is confined to kernel heap corruption and potential privilege escalation within the same kernel security boundary, not a cross-authority escape such as VM breakout or IOMMU bypass.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- A double-free of kmalloc-allocated CID bitmap objects corrupts the kernel slab allocator state, which is classically leverageable for arbitrary kernel memory disclosure through heap manipulation primitives.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Slab double-free is a standard heap corruption primitive that can be developed into arbitrary kernel writes and control-flow hijacking, not merely a bounded or cosmetic modification.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Double-free during driver initialization can cause immediate kernel oops/panic from allocator corruption, and repeated recovery attempts on production QED hardware can produce sustained denial of service.