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CVE-2026-64436NVD status: Modified

Linux: Out-of-bounds Read

CVE-2026-64436 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 58e82fc3dedb57b1432292504415b224fd2d6acb, 01b9115b55018123ef2449ac4951f89147a8428e, 3f63d1752d90c0e28be931a48ab5d89bc97d637d 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.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 58e82fc3dedb57b1432292504415b224fd2d6acb or 01b9115b55018123ef2449ac4951f89147a8428e or 3f63d1752d90c0e28be931a48ab5d89bc97d637d or 273c06b81d2e902b21acc801ae18c8276c8a9b69, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.261 or 5.15.212 or 6.1.178 or 6.6.145, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, 58e82fc3dedb57b1432292504415b224fd2d6acb; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, 01b9115b55018123ef2449ac4951f89147a8428e; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, 3f63d1752d90c0e28be931a48ab5d89bc97d637d; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, 273c06b81d2e902b21acc801ae18c8276c8a9b69; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, 6de2a650917bedaaefd65b17cede83c5e2c1dedd; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, e8417353cbd078d10531ba3928e609c84ab09e6b; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, cea34abc94b0a81e3a8b5cfb41cf45af37c2c67e; 80c9abaabf4283f7cf4a0b3597cd302506635b7f up to, but not including, d129c3177d7b1138fd5066fcc63a698b3ba415b0; and 1 more ranges58e82fc3dedb57b1432292504415b224fd2d6acb, 01b9115b55018123ef2449ac4951f89147a8428e, 3f63d1752d90c0e28be931a48ab5d89bc97d637d, 273c06b81d2e902b21acc801ae18c8276c8a9b69, 6de2a650917bedaaefd65b17cede83c5e2c1dedd, e8417353cbd078d10531ba3928e609c84ab09e6b
LinuxLinux Kernel2.6.21 up to, but not including, 5.10.261; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.212; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.178; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.145; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.96; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.39; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.1.45.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.96, 6.18.39

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 CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: af_key: initialize alg_key_len for IPComp states pfkey_msg2xfrm_state() handles the IPComp (SADB_X_SATYPE_IPCOMP) case by allocating x->calg and copying only the algorithm name: x->calg = kmalloc_obj(*x->calg); if (!x->calg) { err = -ENOMEM; goto out; } strcpy(x->calg->alg_name, a->name); x->props.calgo = sa->sadb_sa_encrypt; Unlike the authentication (x->aalg) and encryption (x->ealg) branches of the same function, the compression branch never initializes calg->alg_key_len. IPComp carries no key and the allocation only reserves sizeof(struct xfrm_algo) (i.e. no room for a key), so the field is left containing uninitialized slab data. calg->alg_key_len is later used as a length by xfrm_algo_clone() when an IPComp state is cloned during XFRM_MSG_MIGRATE: xfrm_state_migrate() xfrm_state_clone_and_setup() x->calg = xfrm_algo_clone(orig->calg); kmemdup(orig, xfrm_alg_len(orig)); where xfrm_alg_len() returns sizeof(*alg) + (alg_key_len + 7) / 8. With a non-zero garbage alg_key_len, kmemdup() reads past the end of the 68-byte calg object. Adding an IPComp SA via PF_KEY and then migrating it triggers (net-next, KASAN, init_on_alloc=0): BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in kmemdup_noprof+0x44/0x60 Read of size 4164 at addr ff11000025a74980 by task diag2/9287 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 9287 Comm: diag2 7.1.0-rc6-g903db046d557 #1 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x10e/0x1f0 print_report+0xf7/0x600 kasan_report+0xe4/0x120 kasan_check_range+0x105/0x1b0 __asan_memcpy+0x23/0x60 kmemdup_noprof+0x44/0x60 xfrm_state_migrate+0x70a/0x1da0 xfrm_migrate+0x753/0x18a0 xfrm_do_migrate+0xb47/0xf10 xfrm_user_rcv_msg+0x411/0xb50 netlink_rcv_skb+0x158/0x420 xfrm_netlink_rcv+0x71/0x90 netlink_unicast+0x584/0x850 netlink_sendmsg+0x8b0/0xdc0 ____sys_sendmsg+0x9f7/0xb90 ___sys_sendmsg+0x134/0x1d0 __sys_sendmsg+0x16d/0x220 do_syscall_64+0x116/0x7d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> Allocated by task 9287: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 pfkey_add+0x2652/0x2ea0 pfkey_process+0x6d0/0x830 pfkey_sendmsg+0x42c/0x850 __sys_sendto+0x461/0x4b0 __x64_sys_sendto+0xe0/0x1c0 do_syscall_64+0x116/0x7d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f The buggy address belongs to the object at ff11000025a74980 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-96 of size 96 The buggy address is located 0 bytes inside of allocated 68-byte region [ff11000025a74980, ff11000025a749c4) Depending on the uninitialized value the same field can instead request an oversized kmemdup() allocation and make the migration clone fail. The XFRM netlink path is not affected: verify_one_alg() rejects an XFRMA_ALG_COMP attribute shorter than xfrm_alg_len(), so a calg added via XFRM_MSG_NEWSA is always self-consistent. Initialize calg->alg_key_len to 0, matching the aalg/ealg branches.

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. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities

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