CVE-2026-74653

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_of: clear stuck empty-FIFO RX-timeout on LPC32xx The NXP LPC32xx UART (PORT_LPC3220) can latch an RX character-timeout interrupt while the RX FIFO is empty: IIR reports UART_IIR_RX_TIMEOUT (0x0c) but LSR.DR is clear. A character timeout is only cleared by reading RHR, but serial8250_rx_chars() reads RHR only when LSR.DR is set, so nothing ever clears the condition. The interrupt is level-triggered and re-fires immediately, so on a single-core ARM926 the resulting interrupt storm livelocks the CPU. It is reproducible when userspace repeatedly opens the front-panel port (ttyS1): serial8250_do_set_termios() re-enables interrupts on unlock and the handler then spins forever with iir=0xcc lsr=0x60 ier=0x05, tripping the soft-lockup detector in serial8250_handle_irq_locked(). LPC32xx has no dedicated 8250 glue driver, it's driven by the generic 8250_of. Add a hardware specific handle_irq for PORT_LPC3220, wired up in of_platform_serial_setup() the same way fsl8250_handle_irq is installed. The handler follows dw8250_handle_irq(): on an RX timeout with an empty FIFO (LSR.DR and LSR.BI clear) it does one throwaway RHR read to clear the condition, then calls serial8250_handle_irq_locked(). No real received data is ever discarded, and it is a no-op on healthy UARTs which never report a timeout with DR clear. This is the same class of bug already worked around in other 8250 drivers; see commit 424d79183af0 ("serial: 8250_dw: Avoid "too much work" from bogus rx timeout interrupt") which reports the identical iir=0xcc/lsr=0x60. See also UART_RX_TIMEOUT_QUIRK in 8250_omap, and the note in 8250_bcm7271.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-08-22
Last modified 2026-08-27
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.36 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.106, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.36
Fixed in
✓ 6.12.106 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.45 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.9 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-74653?

    CVE-2026-74653 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.36 onward and has been patched in 6.12.106, 6.18.45, 7.1.9 and others. CVE-2026-74653 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-74653?

    Yes. CVE-2026-74653 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.106, 6.18.45, 7.1.9 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.36 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-74653 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-74653 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.