Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Intel IGC network driver could cause system instability or network issues. The driver fails to properly reset certain data markers when reusing memory for network traffic, which can lead the system to use the wrong cleanup process after sending data. This primarily affects systems using specific Intel Ethernet controllers with frame preemption enabled.
Technical details
A vulnerability exists in the igc network driver within the Linux kernel where igc_fpe_init_smd_frame() fails to set the buffer type for Socket Buffer (skb) frames. Because igc_tx_buffer entries are reused across different transmission types (such as XDP or XSK), a stale type marker may remain in the buffer structure. This causes the TX completion handler to follow an incorrect cleanup path, potentially leading to memory corruption or kernel instability. The issue is specific to the Intel Gigabit Ethernet (IGC) driver when Frame Preemption (FPE) is utilized. Patches have been released for various stable kernel branches including 6.18.34 and 7.0.11.
Affected products
- Linux Linux 6.16 to 6.18.33, 7.0 to 7.0.10
Timeline
- 2026-07-19: disclosed
- 2026-07-19: advisory