Vulnerability feed

Executive summary

A kernel bug in the Linux emac network driver causes a crash when the driver starts up on some devices, which can stop the system from booting or working normally. The advisory does not state a severity rating, and it does not describe any remote attack or known exploitation. The text describes a code fix that moves some driver setup earlier, but it does not give a specific fixed version or a formal vendor recommendation.

Technical summary

This is a NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel emac network driver, triggered during driver initialization. The crash occurs in phy_link_topo_add_phy() because of_phy_connect() runs before netdev_ops are set, and the regression is said to have started at v7.3-rc1 after commit ded86da4bbb7. The fix moves setting of netdev_ops, commac.ops, and ethtool_ops earlier in emac_probe, and the advisory says the dev->commac.ops assignment for the non-GigE case moves into an else block. The advisory does not state a CVSS score, a fixed kernel version number, a workaround, or any detection guidance, and it does not state an attack vector because the crash is a local initialization fault.

Summaries are generated by AI from the linked advisory text. Confirm versions and fixes at the source.

Score

No CVSS score published.

Affects

LinuxLinuxLinux kernelLinux emac