CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-45994NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Read

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-45994 is a high-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 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 44ee19422aa82a6847594866de7e5a31e4ef98b3, 7b8a574da5d7ea99b943f7a3458a17a1d95e8838, d50e2019c9d7c433f56d9dff65703eb904aa1fb1 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.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 44ee19422aa82a6847594866de7e5a31e4ef98b3 or 7b8a574da5d7ea99b943f7a3458a17a1d95e8838 or d50e2019c9d7c433f56d9dff65703eb904aa1fb1 or a672682d39dd34e2b5ba4feb436723bed65125ff, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.258 or 5.15.209 or 6.1.175 or 6.6.140, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, 44ee19422aa82a6847594866de7e5a31e4ef98b3; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, 7b8a574da5d7ea99b943f7a3458a17a1d95e8838; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, d50e2019c9d7c433f56d9dff65703eb904aa1fb1; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, a672682d39dd34e2b5ba4feb436723bed65125ff; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, aefc1a97da17d8309974690c8a03e439a91ebb1c; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, ee5737891464030a189837467df3b81a273718ad; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, d0fb4d1dc43f8d5179917a2daaa82680993d4cdf; 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 up to, but not including, 0eb09f737428e482a32a2e31e5e223f2b35a71d3; and 1 more ranges44ee19422aa82a6847594866de7e5a31e4ef98b3, 7b8a574da5d7ea99b943f7a3458a17a1d95e8838, d50e2019c9d7c433f56d9dff65703eb904aa1fb1, a672682d39dd34e2b5ba4feb436723bed65125ff, aefc1a97da17d8309974690c8a03e439a91ebb1c, ee5737891464030a189837467df3b81a273718ad
LinuxLinux Kernel2.6.12.1 up to, but not including, 5.10.258; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.209; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.175; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.140; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.86; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.27; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.4; 2.6.125.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27

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
NoneNothing can be modified.
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:N/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ibmasm: fix OOB reads in command_file_write due to missing size checks The command_file_write() handler allocates a kernel buffer of exactly count bytes and copies user data into it, but does not validate the buffer against the dot command protocol before passing it to get_dot_command_size() and get_dot_command_timeout(). Since both the allocation size (count) and the header fields (command_size, data_size) are independently user-controlled, an attacker can cause get_dot_command_size() to return a value exceeding the allocation, triggering OOB reads in get_dot_command_timeout() and an out-of-bounds memcpy_toio() that leaks kernel heap memory to the service processor. Fix with two guards: reject writes smaller than sizeof(struct dot_command_header) before allocation, then after copying user data reject commands where the buffer is smaller than the total size declared by the header (sizeof(header) + command_size + data_size). This ensures all subsequent header and payload field accesses stay within the buffer.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Read

The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.

More Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities (CWE-125)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities

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