CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-53088NVD status: Modified

Linux: Off-by-one Error

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-53088 is a critical-severity off-by-one error vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 14e9f86564fff7bcf7f45c1b69080e837b31d185, fb9a3c1f547d0ff024dbfe7b6f327626ddf0a3de, 85f34ec320d3881badfd4edc5fee5cd5012bb54d 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 0.4% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 14e9f86564fff7bcf7f45c1b69080e837b31d185 or fb9a3c1f547d0ff024dbfe7b6f327626ddf0a3de or 85f34ec320d3881badfd4edc5fee5cd5012bb54d or 2a74590170427a3ca7cc4bb8690cdd559129c29c, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 3.17 or 5.10.258 or 5.15.209 or 6.1.175, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 14e9f86564fff7bcf7f45c1b69080e837b31d185; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, fb9a3c1f547d0ff024dbfe7b6f327626ddf0a3de; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 85f34ec320d3881badfd4edc5fee5cd5012bb54d; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 2a74590170427a3ca7cc4bb8690cdd559129c29c; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 29394f722f620281f2ee9a47f947734e53d72c90; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 4cab761fc51c65aef741fcece4a18f3554edbc09; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 72df896e31ddd06fcc5a789f025ad7a62a18bc9b; 876dbadd53a7102e2a84afc84ea2bd3ee6dc5636 up to, but not including, 57f3f53d2c9c5a9e133596e2f7bc1c50688a6d38; and 3 more ranges14e9f86564fff7bcf7f45c1b69080e837b31d185, fb9a3c1f547d0ff024dbfe7b6f327626ddf0a3de, 85f34ec320d3881badfd4edc5fee5cd5012bb54d, 2a74590170427a3ca7cc4bb8690cdd559129c29c, 29394f722f620281f2ee9a47f947734e53d72c90, 4cab761fc51c65aef741fcece4a18f3554edbc09
LinuxLinux Kernel3.16.50 up to, but not including, 3.17; 4.13.1 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, 6.6.141; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.91; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.33; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.10; and 1 more ranges3.17, 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91

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
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: bcmgenet: fix off-by-one in bcmgenet_put_txcb The write_ptr points to the next open tx_cb. We want to return the tx_cb that gets rewinded, so we must rewind the pointer first then return the tx_cb that it points to. That way the txcb can be correctly cleaned up.

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

The underlying weakness: Off-by-one Error

A product calculates or uses an incorrect maximum or minimum value that is 1 more, or 1 less, than the correct value.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • When copying character arrays or using character manipulation methods, the correct size parameter must be used to account for the null terminator that needs to be added at the end of the array. Some examples of functions susceptible to this weakness in C include strcpy(), strncpy(), strcat(), strncat(), printf(), sprintf(), scanf() and sscanf().

More Off-by-one Error vulnerabilities (CWE-193)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Off-by-one Error vulnerabilities

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