Subject: Re: [PATCH iwl-net] idpf: Fix flow rule delete failure due to invalid validation

From: Simon Horman <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2026 16:26:44 +0000

On Tue, Jan 13, 2026 at 12:01:13PM -0600, Sreedevi Joshi wrote:
> When deleting a flow rule using "ethtool -N <dev> delete <location>",
> idpf_sideband_action_ena() incorrectly validates fsp->ring_cookie even
> though ethtool doesn't populate this field for delete operations. The
> uninitialized ring_cookie may randomly match RX_CLS_FLOW_DISC or
> RX_CLS_FLOW_WAKE, causing validation to fail and preventing legitimate
> rule deletions. Remove the unnecessary sideband action enable check and
> ring_cookie validation during delete operations since action validation
> is not required when removing existing rules.
> 
> Fixes: ada3e24b84a0 ("idpf: add flow steering support")
> Signed-off-by: Sreedevi Joshi <[email-masked]>
> Reviewed-by: Aleksandr Loktionov <[email-masked]>

Thanks,

I agree with your analysis.
And that the problem was introduced by the cited commit.

Reviewed-by: Simon Horman <[email-masked]>