Vulnerability record · CVE-2026-74742 · published 26 August 2026
CVE-2026-74742: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: veth: fix queue index used to wake the pe…
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: veth: fix queue index used to wake the peer txq in veth_poll veth_poll() derives the index of the peer TX queue to wake from rq->xdp_rxq.queue_index. That field is only initialized by xdp_rxq_info_reg() in veth_enable_xdp_range(), which runs only when an XDP program is attached. On the plain GRO/NAPI path (veth_napi_enable_range()) xdp_rxq_info_reg() is never called, so queue_index stays 0 for every queue, as priv->rq is zero-allocated. So in a multi-queue setup with GRO enabled and no XDP program attached, every NAPI instance looks at the peer's TX queue 0. If veth_xmit() stops peer TX queue 1 because the ptr_ring is full (NETDEV_TX_BUSY), nothing ever wakes it again: the poller draining queue 1 wakes queue 0 instead. veth implements no ndo_tx_timeout, so the netdev watchdog does not kick in either, and the queue stays stopped indefinitely. Derive the index from the position of the rq within priv->rq instead, which is correct regardless of whether XDP was ever enabled. Scripts to reproduce the stall are available at https://github.com/netoptimizer/veth-backpressure-performance-testing
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: veth: fix queue index used to wake the peer txq in veth_poll veth_poll() derives the index of the peer TX queue to wake from rq->xdp_rxq.queue_index. That field is only initialized by xdp_rxq_info_reg() in veth_enable_xdp_range(), which runs only when an XDP program is attached. On the plain GRO/NAPI path (veth_napi_enable_range()) xdp_rxq_info_reg() is never called, so queue_index stays 0 for every queue, as priv->rq is zero-allocated. So in a multi-queue setup with GRO enabled and no XDP program attached, every NAPI instance looks at the peer's TX queue 0. If veth_xmit() stops peer TX queue 1 because the ptr_ring is full (NETDEV_TX_BUSY), nothing ever wakes it again: the poller draining queue 1 wakes queue 0 instead. veth implements no ndo_tx_timeout, so the netdev watchdog does not kick in either, and the queue stays stopped indefinitely. Derive the index from the position of the rq within priv->rq instead, which is correct regardless of whether XDP was ever enabled. Scripts to reproduce the stall are available at https://github.com/netoptimizer/veth-backpressure-performance-testing
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
References
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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2026-74742), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
