Linux: Out-of-bounds Read
CVE-2026-53138 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 e94f5323c41f32a74160378c3b19850d1f203ad5, 04e271a952b8863bbafc99bd51aca4c32bff0e0d, 6723188c42ca3b34a9fce634d7a0ecc9ccd5cd56 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 0.13% 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 e94f5323c41f32a74160378c3b19850d1f203ad5 or 04e271a952b8863bbafc99bd51aca4c32bff0e0d or 6723188c42ca3b34a9fce634d7a0ecc9ccd5cd56 or 499c6b43a79dd684bddbd18fe8b2235aa2764db4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.260 or 5.15.211 or 6.1.177 or 6.6.144, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, e94f5323c41f32a74160378c3b19850d1f203ad5; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 04e271a952b8863bbafc99bd51aca4c32bff0e0d; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 6723188c42ca3b34a9fce634d7a0ecc9ccd5cd56; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 499c6b43a79dd684bddbd18fe8b2235aa2764db4; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 6173cfea2f916e01c4f98e29cd654384a05e32a3; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 0e56f460bddb397fa9a8e6faf7ae7eaa86953eb1; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, 2645e3caf7e013189da9c6ff621d006cca5a538b; 4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c up to, but not including, ff287df16a1a58aca78b08d1f3ee09fc44da0351; and 1 more ranges | e94f5323c41f32a74160378c3b19850d1f203ad5, 04e271a952b8863bbafc99bd51aca4c32bff0e0d, 6723188c42ca3b34a9fce634d7a0ecc9ccd5cd56, 499c6b43a79dd684bddbd18fe8b2235aa2764db4, 6173cfea2f916e01c4f98e29cd654384a05e32a3, 0e56f460bddb397fa9a8e6faf7ae7eaa86953eb1 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 4.15 up to, but not including, 5.10.260; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.211; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.177; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.144; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.94; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.36; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.13; 7.1 | 5.10.260, 5.15.211, 6.1.177, 6.6.144, 6.12.94, 6.18.36 |
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: drm/amd/display: Bound VBIOS record-chain walk loops [Why & How] All record-chain walk loops in bios_parser.c and bios_parser2.c use for(;;) and only terminate on a 0xFF record_type sentinel or zero record_size. A malformed VBIOS image missing the terminator record causes unbounded iteration at probe time, potentially hundreds of thousands of iterations with record_size=1. In the final iterations near the BIOS image boundary, struct casts beyond the 2-byte header validated by GET_IMAGE can also read out of bounds. Cap all 14 record-chain walk loops to BIOS_MAX_NUM_RECORD (256) iterations. The atombios.h defines up to 22 distinct record types and atomfirmware.h has 13. Assuming an average of less than 10 records per type (which is reasonable since most are connector- based) 256 is a generous upper bound. (cherry picked from commit 95700a3d660287ed657d6892f7be9ffc0e294a93)
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.
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/04e271a952b8863bbafc99bd51aca4c32bff0e0d
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0e56f460bddb397fa9a8e6faf7ae7eaa86953eb1
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2645e3caf7e013189da9c6ff621d006cca5a538b
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/499c6b43a79dd684bddbd18fe8b2235aa2764db4
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6173cfea2f916e01c4f98e29cd654384a05e32a3
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6723188c42ca3b34a9fce634d7a0ecc9ccd5cd56
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e94f5323c41f32a74160378c3b19850d1f203ad5
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff287df16a1a58aca78b08d1f3ee09fc44da0351
Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities
- 7.5 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.1 High severity
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