CVE-2026-81013

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/x86: hp-bioscfg: fix heap OOB read on empty password write validate_password_input() computes length = strlen(buf) and then checks buf[length - 1] to strip a trailing newline, without checking that length is nonzero first. Writing an empty string (a bare '\n') to current_password or new_password gives length == 0, and buf[length - 1] reads buf[-1], one byte before the heap allocation holding the copied input. KASAN confirms this directly: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in store_password_instance.constprop.0+0x223/0x2a0 [hp_bioscfg] Read of size 1 at addr ffff88811bd8da9f by task sh/13740 ... store_password_instance.constprop.0+0x223/0x2a0 [hp_bioscfg] current_password_store+0x14/0x20 [hp_bioscfg] ... The buggy address is located 23 bytes to the right of allocated 8-byte region [ffff88811bd8da80, ffff88811bd8da88) Reproduced identically via new_password_store. Execution continues past the bad read (the garbage byte only affects whether "length" is decremented by one), so the write completes and returns success; this is a pure information read past the buffer, not a crash, but it is still an out-of-bounds access KASAN correctly flags. Fix by only checking buf[length - 1] when length is nonzero.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-09-11
Last modified 2026-09-14
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.6 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3-rc1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 6.6
Fixed in
✓ 6.6.157 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.109 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.50 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.4 7.2.x ✓ 7.3-rc1

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-81013?

    CVE-2026-81013 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6 onward and has been patched in 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50 and others. CVE-2026-81013 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-81013?

    Yes. CVE-2026-81013 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-81013 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-81013 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.