CVE-2026-89542
CriticalIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: SUNRPC: harden gss_krb5_unwrap_v2 against short tokens gss_krb5_unwrap_v2() reads the EC and RRC header fields at ptr+4 and ptr+6 before validating that the token is at least GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN (16) bytes long, and its rotate_left() helper passes buf->len - base to xdr_buf_subsegment() without verifying that base <= buf->len. When a caller hands in a sub-16-byte token, or a token whose declared len leaves base past the end of the buffer, three distinct failures follow: gss_krb5_unwrap_v2(offset, len, buf) ptr = buf->head[0].iov_base + offset ec = *(ptr + 4) /* OOB read on short head */ rrc = *(ptr + 6) /* OOB read on short head */ rotate_left(offset + 16, buf, rrc) xdr_buf_subsegment(buf, &subbuf, base, buf->len - base) /* u32 wrap when base > len */ _rotate_left(&subbuf, shift) shift %= buf->len /* divide-by-zero when base == len */ After decryption, the cleanup arithmetic has the same shape: movelen = min_t(unsigned int, buf->head[0].iov_len, len); movelen -= offset + GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN + headskip; BUG_ON(offset + GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN + headskip + movelen > buf->head[0].iov_len); The BUG_ON re-adds the value just subtracted, so it reduces to min(A, B) > A and is permanently false; it cannot catch the unsigned underflow of movelen, which then drives a ~UINT_MAX-byte memmove(). Add four defense-in-depth guards inside the unwrap core so it is safe regardless of what its callers validate: - reject tokens with len - offset < GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN before touching ptr+4/ptr+6; - bail from rotate_left() when buf->len <= base, covering both the underflow and zero-length cases; - return early from _rotate_left() when buf->len is zero, so the shift %= buf->len modulo cannot fault; - replace the dead BUG_ON with a live check that returns GSS_S_DEFECTIVE_TOKEN before the movelen subtraction.
CVSS 3.1 score
9.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
2.6.35
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.270,
5.15.221,
6.1.188,
6.6.157,
6.12.109,
6.18.50,
7.2.4,
7.3-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-89542?
CVE-2026-89542 is a Critical severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.35 onward and has been patched in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188 and others. CVE-2026-89542 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-89542?
CVE-2026-89542 has a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, rated Critical severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-89542?
Yes. CVE-2026-89542 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.35 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-89542 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-89542 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.