CVE-2026-23206
📋 TL;DR
A kernel panic vulnerability in the Linux kernel's dpaa2-switch driver occurs when a device reports zero network interfaces. This causes the driver to allocate zero-sized arrays that return a special pointer (ZERO_SIZE_PTR), which is later dereferenced, crashing the system. This affects systems using the dpaa2-switch driver with misconfigured hardware or firmware issues.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with dpaa2-switch driver
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system crash (kernel panic) leading to denial of service, requiring physical or remote reboot to restore functionality.
Likely Case
System crash when the driver initializes with zero interfaces, causing temporary denial of service until reboot.
If Mitigated
No impact if the driver is not loaded or if the hardware/firmware is properly configured to report at least one interface.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to trigger driver initialization with zero interfaces, typically through hardware/firmware misconfiguration rather than direct attack.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Linux kernel with commits 155eb99aff2920153bf21217ae29565fff81e6af or later
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/155eb99aff2920153bf21217ae29565fff81e6af
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commit. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to update kernel package. 3. Reboot to load new kernel.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable dpaa2-switch driver
allPrevent loading of the vulnerable driver module
echo 'blacklist dpaa2-switch' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
rmmod dpaa2-switch
Ensure hardware reports interfaces
allVerify hardware/firmware configuration reports at least one network interface
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Monitor system logs for kernel panic events related to dpaa2-switch
- Ensure hardware/firmware is properly configured to avoid zero interface conditions
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if dpaa2-switch driver is loaded: lsmod | grep dpaa2_switchCheck Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Check kernel version includes fix commit: grep -q '155eb99aff2920153bf21217ae29565fff81e6af' /proc/version || echo 'Check kernel changelog'📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic messages in /var/log/kern.log or dmesg
- OOPs messages mentioning dpaa2_switch or ZERO_SIZE_PTR
Network Indicators:
- Sudden loss of network connectivity on affected interfaces
SIEM Query:
event_source="kernel" AND (message CONTAINS "dpaa2_switch" OR message CONTAINS "kernel panic")🔗 References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/155eb99aff2920153bf21217ae29565fff81e6af
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fcccca88456b592bd668db13aa1d29ed257ca2b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4acc40db06ffd0fd92683505342b00c8a7394c60
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80165ff16051448d6f840585ebe13f2400415df3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b97415c4362f739e25ec6f71012277086fabdf6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed48a84a72fefb20a82dd90a7caa7807e90c6f66
