CVE-2026-99166
net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler rds_rdma_cm_event_handler_cmn() assigns trans only when the RDMA device is an InfiniBand CA (RDMA_NODE_IB_CA). On any other device type, e.g. an iWARP RNIC such as siw, trans stays uninitialized, but the event switch dereferences it: unconditionally in the RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST case via trans->cm_handle_connect(), and (with a connection context) in the ROUTE_RESOLVED and ESTABLISHED cases. An RDS listener on an iWARP device therefore crashes the kernel as soon as a connect request arrives: with CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO the wild load becomes a NULL dereference at offset 0xa0 (&trans->cm_handle_connect) in the iw_cm_wq workqueue. GCC masks the bug in default builds by folding the uninitialized load into &rds_ib_transport; Clang-built kernels take the real uninitialized path and oops. The active side can land on a non-IB device too: the id that rds_ib_conn_path_connect() creates is not restricted to a node type, so rdma_resolve_addr() binds it to whichever device serves the local address, and an iWARP RNIC on the same netdev qualifies. The crash there is different: resolving a route on an iWARP id never fills in cm_id->route.path_rec, and the ROUTE_RESOLVED case writes path_rec[0].sl before it calls into the transport. The iWARP transport was dropped long ago and IB is the only transport left, so make that explicit: initialize trans to &rds_ib_transport at declaration, drop the conditional assignment, reject a connect request that arrives on a non-IB device, and drop a connection whose address resolved to one instead of resolving a route on it. The rejection is limited to RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST on purpose: a non-zero return from the handler makes rdma_cm destroy the id the event was delivered on, which is right for the request's freshly created id but would free a connection id that RDS still owns for any other event. On the active side the id stays ic->i_cm_id and the connection's shutdown destroys it, so that case returns 0. [achender: reject only on RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST instead of bailing out for every event on a non-IB device, so that rdma_cm does not destroy connection ids RDS still tracks; drop a connection whose address resolved to a non-IB device before a route is resolved on it; changelog adjusted]
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 28, 2026, 11:17 a.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 28, 2026, 11:17 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Initialize trans to &rds_ib_transport at declaration.
- Drop conditional assignment of trans.
- Reject connect requests on non-IB devices.
- Drop connections resolving to non-IB devices.
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CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-99166 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-99166
weaknesses.
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Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Oct. 28, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: rds: fix uninitialized trans dereference in CM event handler rds_rdma_cm_event_handler_cmn() assigns trans only when the RDMA device is an InfiniBand CA (RDMA_NODE_IB_CA). On any other device type, e.g. an iWARP RNIC such as siw, trans stays uninitialized, but the event switch dereferences it: unconditionally in the RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST case via trans->cm_handle_connect(), and (with a connection context) in the ROUTE_RESOLVED and ESTABLISHED cases. An RDS listener on an iWARP device therefore crashes the kernel as soon as a connect request arrives: with CONFIG_INIT_STACK_ALL_ZERO the wild load becomes a NULL dereference at offset 0xa0 (&trans->cm_handle_connect) in the iw_cm_wq workqueue. GCC masks the bug in default builds by folding the uninitialized load into &rds_ib_transport; Clang-built kernels take the real uninitialized path and oops. The active side can land on a non-IB device too: the id that rds_ib_conn_path_connect() creates is not restricted to a node type, so rdma_resolve_addr() binds it to whichever device serves the local address, and an iWARP RNIC on the same netdev qualifies. The crash there is different: resolving a route on an iWARP id never fills in cm_id->route.path_rec, and the ROUTE_RESOLVED case writes path_rec[0].sl before it calls into the transport. The iWARP transport was dropped long ago and IB is the only transport left, so make that explicit: initialize trans to &rds_ib_transport at declaration, drop the conditional assignment, reject a connect request that arrives on a non-IB device, and drop a connection whose address resolved to one instead of resolving a route on it. The rejection is limited to RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST on purpose: a non-zero return from the handler makes rdma_cm destroy the id the event was delivered on, which is right for the request's freshly created id but would free a connection id that RDS still owns for any other event. On the active side the id stays ic->i_cm_id and the connection's shutdown destroys it, so that case returns 0. [achender: reject only on RDMA_CM_EVENT_CONNECT_REQUEST instead of bailing out for every event on a non-IB device, so that rdma_cm does not destroy connection ids RDS still tracks; drop a connection whose address resolved to a non-IB device before a route is resolved on it; changelog adjusted] Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99166.json">CVE-2026-99166</a> Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/492ba6ac1b1ffb8a06ff52db0825c1af2cdb28c8 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f23e4e3a31dacfd82a8f56be253adc0910ee84f Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca14c289ed9ffed6cc64290d039e923e5720a8bf