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

can: etas_es58x: populate ndo_change_mtu() to prevent buffer overflow

Sending an PF_PACKET allows to bypass the CAN framework logic and to
directly reach the xmit() function of a CAN driver. The only check
which is performed by the PF_PACKET framework is to make sure that
skb->len fits the interface's MTU.

Unfortunately, because the etas_es58x driver does not populate its
net_device_ops->ndo_change_mtu(), it is possible for an attacker to
configure an invalid MTU by doing, for example:

$ ip link set can0 mtu 9999

After doing so, the attacker could open a PF_PACKET socket using the
ETH_P_CANXL protocol:

socket(PF_PACKET, SOCK_RAW, htons(ETH_P_CANXL));

to inject a malicious CAN XL frames. For example:

struct canxl_frame frame = {
.flags = 0xff,
.len = 2048,
};

The CAN drivers' xmit() function are calling can_dev_dropped_skb() to
check that the skb is valid, unfortunately under above conditions, the
malicious packet is able to go through can_dev_dropped_skb() checks:

1. the skb->protocol is set to ETH_P_CANXL which is valid (the
function does not check the actual device capabilities).

2. the length is a valid CAN XL length.

And so, es58x_start_xmit() receives a CAN XL frame which it is not
able to correctly handle and will thus misinterpret it as a CAN(FD)
frame.

This can result in a buffer overflow. For example, using the es581.4
variant, the frame will be dispatched to es581_4_tx_can_msg(), go
through the last check at the beginning of this function:

if (can_is_canfd_skb(skb))
return -EMSGSIZE;

and reach this line:

memcpy(tx_can_msg->data, cf->data, cf->len);

Here, cf->len corresponds to the flags field of the CAN XL frame. In
our previous example, we set canxl_frame->flags to 0xff. Because the
maximum expected length is 8, a buffer overflow of 247 bytes occurs!

Populate net_device_ops->ndo_change_mtu() to ensure that the
interface's MTU can not be set to anything bigger than CAN_MTU or
CANFD_MTU (depending on the device capabilities). By fixing the root
cause, this prevents the buffer overflow.

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Advisories
Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4379-1 linux-6.1 security update
Debian DSA Debian DSA DSA-6053-1 linux security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-3 Linux kernel (FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8034-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-4 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-5 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8034-2 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra IGX) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-6 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-7 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8033-8 Linux kernel (Intel IoTG) vulnerabilities
Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate


Wed, 15 Oct 2025 08:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: can: etas_es58x: populate ndo_change_mtu() to prevent buffer overflow Sending an PF_PACKET allows to bypass the CAN framework logic and to directly reach the xmit() function of a CAN driver. The only check which is performed by the PF_PACKET framework is to make sure that skb->len fits the interface's MTU. Unfortunately, because the etas_es58x driver does not populate its net_device_ops->ndo_change_mtu(), it is possible for an attacker to configure an invalid MTU by doing, for example: $ ip link set can0 mtu 9999 After doing so, the attacker could open a PF_PACKET socket using the ETH_P_CANXL protocol: socket(PF_PACKET, SOCK_RAW, htons(ETH_P_CANXL)); to inject a malicious CAN XL frames. For example: struct canxl_frame frame = { .flags = 0xff, .len = 2048, }; The CAN drivers' xmit() function are calling can_dev_dropped_skb() to check that the skb is valid, unfortunately under above conditions, the malicious packet is able to go through can_dev_dropped_skb() checks: 1. the skb->protocol is set to ETH_P_CANXL which is valid (the function does not check the actual device capabilities). 2. the length is a valid CAN XL length. And so, es58x_start_xmit() receives a CAN XL frame which it is not able to correctly handle and will thus misinterpret it as a CAN(FD) frame. This can result in a buffer overflow. For example, using the es581.4 variant, the frame will be dispatched to es581_4_tx_can_msg(), go through the last check at the beginning of this function: if (can_is_canfd_skb(skb)) return -EMSGSIZE; and reach this line: memcpy(tx_can_msg->data, cf->data, cf->len); Here, cf->len corresponds to the flags field of the CAN XL frame. In our previous example, we set canxl_frame->flags to 0xff. Because the maximum expected length is 8, a buffer overflow of 247 bytes occurs! Populate net_device_ops->ndo_change_mtu() to ensure that the interface's MTU can not be set to anything bigger than CAN_MTU or CANFD_MTU (depending on the device capabilities). By fixing the root cause, this prevents the buffer overflow.
Title can: etas_es58x: populate ndo_change_mtu() to prevent buffer overflow
References

Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2025-10-15T07:56:06.601Z

Reserved: 2025-04-16T07:20:57.150Z

Link: CVE-2025-39988

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Awaiting Analysis

Published: 2025-10-15T08:15:36.913

Modified: 2025-10-16T15:28:59.610

Link: CVE-2025-39988

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2025-10-15T00:00:00Z

Links: CVE-2025-39988 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2025-10-20T13:26:56Z

Weaknesses

No weakness.