[PATCH] net: alteon: Add missing DMA mapping error checks in ace_start_xmit

From: Wang Jun

Date: Mon Mar 30 2026 - 21:51:23 EST


The ace_start_xmit function does not check the return value of
dma_map_page (via ace_map_tx_skb) and skb_frag_dma_map when building
transmit descriptors. If mapping fails, an invalid DMA address is
written to the descriptor, which may cause hardware to access
illegal memory, leading to system instability or crashes.

Add proper dma_mapping_error() checks for all mapping calls. When
mapping fails, free the skb, increment the dropped packet counter,
and return NETDEV_TX_OK.

Fixes: 1da177e4c3f4 ("Linux-2.6.12-rc2")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Wang Jun <1742789905@xxxxxx>
---
drivers/net/ethernet/alteon/acenic.c | 15 +++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 15 insertions(+)

diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/alteon/acenic.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/alteon/acenic.c
index 455ee8930824..acabede53663 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/alteon/acenic.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/alteon/acenic.c
@@ -2417,6 +2417,11 @@ static netdev_tx_t ace_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb,
u32 vlan_tag = 0;

mapping = ace_map_tx_skb(ap, skb, skb, idx);
+ if (dma_mapping_error(&ap->pdev->dev, mapping)) {
+ dev_kfree_skb(skb);
+ dev->stats.tx_dropped++;
+ return NETDEV_TX_OK;
+ }
flagsize = (skb->len << 16) | (BD_FLG_END);
if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL)
flagsize |= BD_FLG_TCP_UDP_SUM;
@@ -2438,6 +2443,11 @@ static netdev_tx_t ace_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb,
int i;

mapping = ace_map_tx_skb(ap, skb, NULL, idx);
+ if (dma_mapping_error(&ap->pdev->dev, mapping)) {
+ dev_kfree_skb(skb);
+ dev->stats.tx_dropped++;
+ return NETDEV_TX_OK;
+ }
flagsize = (skb_headlen(skb) << 16);
if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL)
flagsize |= BD_FLG_TCP_UDP_SUM;
@@ -2460,6 +2470,11 @@ static netdev_tx_t ace_start_xmit(struct sk_buff *skb,
mapping = skb_frag_dma_map(&ap->pdev->dev, frag, 0,
skb_frag_size(frag),
DMA_TO_DEVICE);
+ if (dma_mapping_error(&ap->pdev->dev, mapping)) {
+ dev_kfree_skb(skb);
+ dev->stats.tx_dropped++;
+ return NETDEV_TX_OK;
+ }

flagsize = skb_frag_size(frag) << 16;
if (skb->ip_summed == CHECKSUM_PARTIAL)
--
2.43.0