Linux: Out-of-bounds Write
CVE-2026-23262 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions f432f7613c220db32c2c6942420daf7b3f2e7d7e, 9d93332397405b62a3300b22d04ac65d990b91ff, 837c662f47dac43efa1aef2dd433c6b4b4c073af as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.14% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to f432f7613c220db32c2c6942420daf7b3f2e7d7e or 9d93332397405b62a3300b22d04ac65d990b91ff or 837c662f47dac43efa1aef2dd433c6b4b4c073af or df54838ab61826ecc1a562ffa5e280c3ab7289a7, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.250 or 5.15.200 or 6.1.163 or 6.6.124, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, f432f7613c220db32c2c6942420daf7b3f2e7d7e; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, 9d93332397405b62a3300b22d04ac65d990b91ff; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, 837c662f47dac43efa1aef2dd433c6b4b4c073af; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, df54838ab61826ecc1a562ffa5e280c3ab7289a7; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, 9fa0a755db3e1945fe00f73fe27d85ef6c8818b7; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, 11f8311f69e4c361717371b4901ff92daeb76e9c; 24aeb56f2d38edf1b324bdb4f8bc6faf9f0f540c up to, but not including, 7b9ebcce0296e104a0d82a6b09d68564806158ff; 5.10 | f432f7613c220db32c2c6942420daf7b3f2e7d7e, 9d93332397405b62a3300b22d04ac65d990b91ff, 837c662f47dac43efa1aef2dd433c6b4b4c073af, df54838ab61826ecc1a562ffa5e280c3ab7289a7, 9fa0a755db3e1945fe00f73fe27d85ef6c8818b7, 11f8311f69e4c361717371b4901ff92daeb76e9c |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.10 up to, but not including, 5.10.250; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.200; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.163; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.124; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.70; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.10; 6.19 | 5.10.250, 5.15.200, 6.1.163, 6.6.124, 6.12.70, 6.18.10 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: Fix stats report corruption on queue count change The driver and the NIC share a region in memory for stats reporting. The NIC calculates its offset into this region based on the total size of the stats region and the size of the NIC's stats. When the number of queues is changed, the driver's stats region is resized. If the queue count is increased, the NIC can write past the end of the allocated stats region, causing memory corruption. If the queue count is decreased, there is a gap between the driver and NIC stats, leading to incorrect stats reporting. This change fixes the issue by allocating stats region with maximum size, and the offset calculation for NIC stats is changed to match with the calculation of the NIC.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Write
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer. Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
- Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/11f8311f69e4c361717371b4901ff92daeb76e9c
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b9ebcce0296e104a0d82a6b09d68564806158ff
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/837c662f47dac43efa1aef2dd433c6b4b4c073af
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d93332397405b62a3300b22d04ac65d990b91ff
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9fa0a755db3e1945fe00f73fe27d85ef6c8818b7
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/df54838ab61826ecc1a562ffa5e280c3ab7289a7
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f432f7613c220db32c2c6942420daf7b3f2e7d7e
Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
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