---
id: CVE-2026-46188
title: 'octeon_ep_vf: add NULL check for napi_build_skb()'
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  octeon_ep_vf: add NULL check for napi_build_skb()

  napi_build_skb() can return NULL on allocation failure. In
  __octep_vf_oq_process_rx(), the result is used directly wi…
severity: none
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 <
    60246cdd4c515ea7d920cddf48932efcb990773e
  - >-
    Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 <
    b0f4711b426a06fb4c4be85c36b9f5588d5140d3
  - >-
    Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 <
    6fef6640bbf360e254cc0174365ed30ce3a07572
  - >-
    Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 <
    dd66b42854705e4e4ee7f14d260f86c578bed3e3
  - Linux 6.9
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-11-06T16:11:32.078230Z'
published: '2026-05-28'
updated: '2026-11-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-06T16:13:43.765Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46188'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60246cdd4c515ea7d920cddf48932efcb990773e'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0f4711b426a06fb4c4be85c36b9f5588d5140d3'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6fef6640bbf360e254cc0174365ed30ce3a07572'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd66b42854705e4e4ee7f14d260f86c578bed3e3'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00127
epssPercentile: 0.02429
ingestedAt: '2026-11-06T16:57:43.325Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

octeon_ep_vf: add NULL check for napi_build_skb()

napi_build_skb() can return NULL on allocation failure. In
__octep_vf_oq_process_rx(), the result is used directly without a NULL
check in both the single-buffer and multi-fragment paths, leading to a
NULL pointer dereference.

Add NULL checks after both napi_build_skb() calls, properly advancing
descriptors and consuming remaining fragments on failure.

## Affected

- `Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 < 60246cdd4c515ea7d920cddf48932efcb990773e`
- `Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 < b0f4711b426a06fb4c4be85c36b9f5588d5140d3`
- `Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 < 6fef6640bbf360e254cc0174365ed30ce3a07572`
- `Linux >= 1cd3b407977c3ab1d2ddc26cb7113e7fb1509cd1 < dd66b42854705e4e4ee7f14d260f86c578bed3e3`
- `Linux 6.9`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.