Medium [CVE-2026-53289] fix NULL pointer dereference in ice_reset_all_vfs
This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-53289 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix NULL pointer dereference in ice_reset_all_vfs() ice_reset_all_vfs() ignores the return value of ice_vf_rebuild_vsi().
When the VSI rebuild fails (e.g. during NVM firmware update via nvmupdate64e), ice_vsi_rebuild() tears down the VSI on its error path, leaving txq_map and rxq_map as NULL. The subsequent unconditional call to ice_vf_post_vsi_rebuild() leads to a NULL pointer dereference in ice_ena_vf_q_mappings() when it accesses vsi->txq_map[0].
The single-VF reset path in ice_reset_vf() already handles this correctly by checking the return value of ice_vf_reconfig_vsi() and skipping ice_vf_post_vsi_rebuild() on failure. Apply the same pattern to ice_reset_all_vfs(): check the return value of ice_vf_rebuild_vsi() and skip ice_vf_post_vsi_rebuild() and ice_eswitch_attach_vf() on failure.
The VF is left safely disabled (ICE_VF_STATE_INIT not set, VFGEN_RSTAT not set to VFACTIVE) and can be recovered via a VFLR triggered by a PCI reset of the VF (sysfs reset or driver rebind).
Note that this patch does not prevent the VF VSI rebuild from failing during NVM update — the underlying cause is firmware being in a transitional state while the EMP reset is processed, which can cause Admin Queue commands (ice_add_vsi, ice_cfg_vsi_lan) to fail.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source
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