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

Project Subscriptions

Vendors Products
Linux Kernel Subscribe
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-399

Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
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
Title veth: fix queue index used to wake the peer txq in veth_poll
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Projects

Sign in to view the affected projects.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-26T14:36:53.580Z

Reserved: 2026-08-15T05:44:03.930Z

Link: CVE-2026-74742

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-26T15:16:52.990

Modified: 2026-08-26T15:16:52.990

Link: CVE-2026-74742

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-26T18:15:08Z

Weaknesses

No weakness.