CVE-2026-63985
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: eeprom: add more safeties to EEPROM Netlink fallback The Netlink fallback path for reading module EEPROM (fallback_set_params()) validates that offset < eeprom_len, but does not check that offset + length stays within eeprom_len. The ioctl equivalent (ethtool_get_any_eeprom() in ioctl.c) has always enforced both bounds: if (eeprom.offset + eeprom.len > total_len) return -EINVAL; This could lead to surprises in both drivers and device FW. Add the missing offset + length validation to fallback_set_params(), mirroring the ioctl. Similarly - ethtool core in general, and ethtool_get_any_eeprom() in particular tries to zero-init all buffers passed to the drivers to avoid any extra work of zeroing things out. eeprom_fallback() uses a plain kmalloc(), change it to zalloc.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.13
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.15.210,
6.1.176,
6.6.143,
6.12.93,
6.18.35,
7.0.12,
7.1
and their respective stable series.
References
7 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-63985?
CVE-2026-63985 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.13 onward and has been patched in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143 and others. CVE-2026-63985 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-63985?
Yes — CVE-2026-63985 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-63985 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-63985 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.