CVE-2026-74717

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's net/mlx5 component. This vulnerability occurs because the firmware tracer (fw_tracer) does not properly handle error return values, specifically when ERR_PTR is returned instead of NULL. An attacker could potentially trigger a kernel panic by exploiting this unchecked return value, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition.

A low impact flaw was found in the Linux kernel net/mlx5 firmware tracer (fw_tracer) error handling, affecting the kernel and kernel-rt packages in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 (including z-stream and ELS update streams) and in Red Hat in-Vehicle OS (RHIvos) 2.0 and 2.1. When mlx5 firmware tracer creation fails, the driver may store an ERR_PTR error return value without validation, and the firmware reporter core dump path then dereferences that invalid pointer, causing a kernel Oops and panic, resulting in a local denial of service. RHEL 7 kernel and kernel-rt are not affected because the vulnerable code is not present in that stream. Triggering the flaw requires local access on a system equipped with mlx5 hardware, an internal tracer creation failure, and a subsequent device health reporter dump; there is no impact on confidentiality or integrity, only on availability. For this reason Red Hat assesses the impact as low, which differs from the upstream CVEORG severity of 7.5 (Important) because the network attack vector assumed there is not supported by the technical evidence. Fixes for the affected streams are currently deferred because the issue is difficult to trigger reliably, as it depends on mlx5 hardware error conditions and driver diagnostic and recovery paths rather than directly attacker-controlled input, and it presents low security risk; the residual risk is a kernel panic and resulting system crash on mlx5-equipped hosts that encounter the underlying error condition.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.