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CVE-2026-97528
scsi: qla2xxx: Unlink NVMe unsol ctx before freeing on LS reject error
Published 2026-09-25 (24 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/scsi. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-97528 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 | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6568-1 · 2026-10-16 · text | 6.12.113-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6568-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-16, in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp() obtains uctx, which was linked into fcport->unsol_ctx_head by qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb() and is still linked when the NVMe transport calls back to transmit the LS response. On the error (out:) path the function frees uctx with kfree() but never removes it from the list. This leaves a freed node in fcport->unsol_ctx_head: the next list_add_tail() for that fcport writes through the freed node, and a subsequent list_del() can corrupt the list or panic. Unlink uctx with list_del() before kfree() on the error path, matching the other free sites in qla_nvme_release_lsrsp_cmd_kref() and qla2xxx_process_purls_pkt(). qla2x00_rel_sp() in the failure path only returns the SRB to its pool and does not invoke sp->put_fn, so the out: path is the sole free and uctx is always still linked there.
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/scsi/qla2xxx/qla_nvme.c
- What this is
- QLOGIC QLA2XXX FC-SCSI DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ · linux-scsi@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- qla2xxx
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_SCSI_QLA_FC /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 qla2xxxPrints 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, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_SCSI_QLA_FC
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
- 2026-09-25 (24 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 8.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- adjacent network (AV:A)source
- EPSS
- 0.32%, higher than 23.6% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/scsi
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | 6.12.112 | cbbf1484496a |
| 6.6 | 6.18.53 | a95fc5f1c12b |
| 6.6 | 7.2.7 | c55d649a6cc2 |
| 6.6 | 7.3 | e46160a5d4fa |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSA-6568-1 | 2026-10-16 | trixie 6.12.113-1 | tracker |
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:AAttack vector, adjacent network
- Unsolicited FC-NVMe LS frames are posted as PT_LS4_UNSOL; qla24xx_msix_rsp_q() (or qla2xxx_msix_rsp_q → qla_do_work) runs qla24xx_process_response_queue() → qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb(), then DPC qla2xxx_process_purls_pkt() → nvme_fc_rcv_ls_req() and nvme_fc_xmt_ls_rsp() call qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp(). FC/FCoE is a non-routable SAN fabric, so Adjacent is the highest defensible vector.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp() kfree()s uctx on out: when qla2x00_get_sp(GFP_ATOMIC) fails, qla2x00_start_sp() fails after five -EAGAIN retries, or fcport->deleted is set. A peer floods CREATE_ASSOCIATION LS onto base_qpair or sends LS then LOGO so deleted is set before nvme_fc_handle_ls_rqst_work() calls xmt_ls_rsp; both sides are attacker-driven.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb() looks up the sender with qla2x00_find_fcport_by_nportid(incl_deleted=0) and handles PT_LS4_UNSOL in the MSI-X/DPC path with no Linux credential or capability check. FC-SP/EDIF is opt-in; being a logged-in NVMe N_Port is fabric membership, not a privilege on the victim host.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- qla24xx_queue_purex_item() sets PROCESS_PUREX_IOCB; qla2xxx_process_purls_pkt() and the nvme_fc rport lsrcv_work then call qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp() with no victim mount, open, or administrator action.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- kfree() of uctx while it remains on fcport->unsol_ctx_head corrupts that per-fcport list and the host kernel heap inside the qla2xxx driver. Impact stays in the same kernel security authority; it is not a VM escape or IOMMU/DMA bypass.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- After qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp() kfree()s uctx, the next qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb() list_add_tail() and a later list_del() in qla_nvme_release_lsrsp_cmd_kref() or qla2xxx_process_purls_pkt() operate on the freed qla_nvme_unsol_ctx. That use-after-free of a kmalloc object enables disclosure of reused kernel heap.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- list_add_tail(&uctx->elem, &fcport->unsol_ctx_head) writes next/prev through the already-freed node, and list_del() of a neighbor stores those pointers into adjacent heap objects. Combined with attacker-driven uctx allocations of known size, that is a kernel write primitive usable for control-flow hijack.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- list_add_tail()/list_del() on the dangling uctx->elem oopses on LIST_POISON or panics on a corrupted next/prev, and the remote peer can repeat PT_LS4_UNSOL to hit the out: path again, taking down the host and its FC-NVMe storage path.