CVE-2026-53038
MediumCVSS 5.5Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk2th percentile - higher than 2% of all known CVEs
Summary
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel causes an out-of-bounds read in the hash_algo_name array during IMA initialization. The issue occurs when the TPM 2.0 module supports a hash algorithm (e.g., SHA3-256) not yet defined in the kernel, leading to memory access errors and potential system crash.
Risk Assessment
The vulnerability can cause a kernel panic during boot, especially on platforms with TPM 2.0 supporting newer hash algorithms. This may prevent normal system operation or be exploited for a denial-of-service attack.
Recommendation
Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit addressing the issue in ima_fs). If an update is not possible, consider disabling the IMA feature in the kernel configuration.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-98164Unknown
In the Linux kernel, KVM x86/mmu's kvm_gfn_is_write_tracked() only checks the supplied memslot, but page tracking is per-address-space and shadow pages are shared across address spaces. With SMM, a GFN can be write-tracked in one address space and appear untracked in another. The fix checks the supplied slot first, then the slot for the other address space, preventing mmu_try_to_unsync_pages() from marking an upper-level shadow page unsync and triggering a BUG in pte_list_remove().
- CVE-2026-98048Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, mark_fastcall_pattern_for_call() must ensure that a matched "spill; call; fill" instruction series is not interrupted by a jump. Otherwise the rewrite applied by bpf_remove_fastcall_spills_fills() is unsound. The fix records instructions targeted by jumps in insn_aux_data[*].jump_target and uses this flag to stop growing a pattern.
- CVE-2026-98047Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, in_rbtree_lock_required_cb() only checks the innermost verifier frame, so rbtree callback restrictions disappear in a nested static subprogram call frame. The subprogram can unlock the tree, remove and drop the node being compared, then relock, leading to freed memory being linked into the tree.
- CVE-2026-98046Unknown
In the Linux kernel's BPF subsystem, bpf_btf_find_by_name_kind() returns a new BTF object fd through __btf_new_fd(), which reaches anon_inode_getfd() that can sleep while allocating or expanding the current task fd table. The helper prototype does not set might_sleep, so the verifier allows the helper in non-sleepable contexts such as BPF timer callbacks.
- CVE-2026-98045Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a BPF verifier vulnerability affects stack helpers that may block on filesystem reads (e.g., resolving build IDs) but were not marked as sleepable. The verifier could still allow these helpers from non-sleepable regions such as RCU or preemption-disabled sections.
- CVE-2026-98044Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier mishandled legacy packet-load instructions (BPF_LD_ABS/BPF_LD_IND) reached from callbacks, triggering a verifier bug warning and an -EFAULT on BPF_PROG_LOAD. A privileged program loader could trigger this issue.
- CVE-2026-98043Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly inferred that a pointer with an unbounded offset is non-NULL based solely on its type. As a result, a BPF program could pass verification while a NULL pointer dereference occurred at runtime.
- CVE-2026-98042Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier could resurrect a scalar id dropped by collect_linked_regs() because snapshots of compared registers were taken before linked registers were collected. This could lead to range inconsistencies and precision propagation issues.
- CVE-2026-98041High
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier incorrectly predicted the outcome of pointer vs zero comparisons in JMP32 instructions, failing to distinguish BPF_JMP from BPF_JMP32 comparisons. This led to incorrect inference that a jump is always taken.
- CVE-2026-98040Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the BPF verifier did not mark the zero register as precise for a register-form NULL check. As a result, one path was pruned and the program could dereference a zero pointer at runtime.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ima_fs: Correctly create securityfs files for unsupported hash algos ima_tpm_chip->allocated_banks[i].crypto_id is initialized to HASH_ALGO__LAST if the TPM algorithm is not supported. However there are places relying on the algorithm to be valid because it is accessed by hash_algo_name[]. On 6.12.40 I observe the following read out-of-bounds in hash_algo_name: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in create_securityfs_measurement_lists+0x396/0x440 Read of size 8 at addr ffffffff83e18138 by task swapper/0/1 CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.12.40 #3 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x61/0x90 print_report+0xc4/0x580 ? kasan_addr_to_slab+0x26/0x80 ? create_securityfs_measurement_lists+0x396/0x440 kasan_report+0xc2/0x100 ? create_securityfs_measurement_lists+0x396/0x440 create_securityfs_measurement_lists+0x396/0x440 ima_fs_init+0xa3/0x300 ima_init+0x7d/0xd0 init_ima+0x28/0x100 do_one_initcall+0xa6/0x3e0 kernel_init_freeable+0x455/0x740 kernel_init+0x24/0x1d0 ret_from_fork+0x38/0x80 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK> The buggy address belongs to the variable: hash_algo_name+0xb8/0x420 Memory state around the buggy address: ffffffff83e18000: 00 01 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 00 01 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 ffffffff83e18080: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 >ffffffff83e18100: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 00 05 f9 f9 ^ ffffffff83e18180: f9 f9 f9 f9 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 f9 f9 f9 f9 ffffffff83e18200: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 f9 ================================================================== Seems like the TPM chip supports sha3_256, which isn't yet in tpm_algorithms: tpm tpm0: TPM with unsupported bank algorithm 0x0027 That's TPM_ALG_SHA3_256 == 0x0027 from "Trusted Platform Module 2.0 Library Part 2: Structures", page 51 [1]. See also the related U-Boot algorithms update [2]. Thus solve the problem by creating a file name with "_tpm_alg_<ID>" postfix if the crypto algorithm isn't initialized. This is how it looks on the test machine (patch ported to v6.12 release): # ls -1 /sys/kernel/security/ima/ ascii_runtime_measurements ascii_runtime_measurements_tpm_alg_27 ascii_runtime_measurements_sha1 ascii_runtime_measurements_sha256 binary_runtime_measurements binary_runtime_measurements_tpm_alg_27 binary_runtime_measurements_sha1 binary_runtime_measurements_sha256 policy runtime_measurements_count violations [1]: https://trustedcomputinggroup.org/wp-content/uploads/Trusted-Platform-Module-2.0-Library-Part-2-Version-184_pub.pdf [2]: https://lists.denx.de/pipermail/u-boot/2024-July/558835.html
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS

