CVE-2025-68816

/// Technical description

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

net/mlx5: fw_tracer, Validate format string parameters

Add validation for format string parameters in the firmware tracer to

prevent potential security vulnerabilities and crashes from malformed

format strings received from firmware.

The firmware tracer receives format strings from the device firmware and

uses them to format trace messages. Without proper validation, bad

firmware could provide format strings with invalid format specifiers

(e.g., %s, %p, %n) that could lead to crashes, or other undefined

behavior.

Add mlx5_tracer_validate_params() to validate that all format specifiers

in trace strings are limited to safe integer/hex formats (%x, %d, %i,

%u, %llx, %lx, etc.). Reject strings containing other format types that

could be used to access arbitrary memory or cause crashes.

Invalid format strings are added to the trace output for visibility with

"BAD_FORMAT: " prefix.

/// Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

/// References