In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: igb: remove napi_synchronize...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

igb: remove napi_synchronize() in igb_down()

When an AF_XDP zero-copy application terminates abruptly (e.g., kill -9),
the XSK buffer pool is destroyed but NAPI polling continues.
igb_clean_rx_irq_zc() repeatedly returns the full budget, preventing
napi_complete_done() from clearing NAPI_STATE_SCHED.

igb_down() calls napi_synchronize() before napi_disable() for each queue
vector. napi_synchronize() spins waiting for NAPI_STATE_SCHED to clear,
which never happens. igb_down() blocks indefinitely, the TX watchdog
fires, and the TX queue remains permanently stalled.

napi_disable() already handles this correctly: it sets NAPI_STATE_DISABLE.
After a full-budget poll, __napi_poll() checks napi_disable_pending(). If
set, it forces completion and clears NAPI_STATE_SCHED, breaking the loop
that napi_synchronize() cannot.

napi_synchronize() was added in commit 41f149a285da ("igb: Fix possible
panic caused by Rx traffic arrival while interface is down").
napi_disable() provides stronger guarantees: it prevents further
scheduling and waits for any active poll to exit.
Other Intel drivers (ixgbe, ice, i40e) use napi_disable() without a
preceding napi_synchronize() in their down paths.

Remove redundant napi_synchronize() call and reorder napi_disable()
before igb_set_queue_napi() so the queue-to-NAPI mapping is only
cleared after polling has fully stopped.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-04-27 18:32:09 UTC
Updated
2026-05-06 21:32:35 UTC
NVD published
2026-04-27

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.01% 2.15%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence