CVE-2026-63825
CriticalCVSS 9.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk35th percentile - higher than 35% of all known CVEs
Summary
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability in the GCOV mechanism occurs when GCC optimization merges global branch counters with loop induction variables. Concurrent execution on multiple CPUs causes inconsistent counter values and out-of-bounds memory writes, manifesting as a page fault during IPComp processing.
Risk Assessment
The organization is at risk of system crashes (kernel panic) when handling compressed IPComp traffic on multi-core machines, potentially leading to network service disruptions and data loss.
Recommendation
Apply the Linux kernel patch that adds the -fprofile-update=prefer-atomic flag to CFLAGS_GCOV, preventing the dangerous optimization. Update to a kernel version containing this fix.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-90049Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability in skb_zerocopy() was fixed: it incorrectly called skb_tx_error() on the source skb when copying frags. This completed the zerocopy uarg and cleared the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG flag on an skb still in use by the network stack. Specifically on the OVS_ACTION_ATTR_USERSPACE path, the skb was not freed on error, which could lead to ESP data being decrypted in place where the skb did not privately own frags, potentially causing data corruption or other issues.
- CVE-2026-90046Unknown
In the Linux kernel, free_pages_nolock() uses spin_trylock() in NMI context on uniprocessor (UP) systems, which is unsafe. The bug affects the page freeing path and can crash the kernel. It is likely exploitable by local attackers for privilege escalation.
- CVE-2026-90045Unknown
In the Linux kernel USB gadget ffs driver, the io_data structure stores a pointer to the submitting task's mm_struct but does not hold a reference while async requests are pending. This can cause a use-after-free if the task exits before completion handling finishes. The fix takes a reference with mmgrab() when queuing and releases it with mmdrop() on completion.
- CVE-2026-90044Unknown
In the Linux kernel USB gadget f_fs driver, a use-after-free exists in the AIO error path. When ffs_epfile_io() fails with an error other than -EIOCBQUEUED, the io_data structure is freed, but the kiocb cancel function remains armed and points to the freed pointer. A concurrent cancel (e.g., sys_io_cancel()) can cause a use-after-free. The fix safely disarms the cancellation via kiocb->ki_complete() and returns -EIOCBQUEUED.
- CVE-2026-90043Unknown
In the Linux kernel zram module, the slot lock bit is set in the wrong position on 64-bit big-endian systems. Instead of landing in the flags field, it lands in ac_time, so with ZRAM_TRACK_ENTRY_ACTIME enabled, storing the access time wipes out the held lock bit and lets another CPU take the same slot lock. An access time value with that bit set can make the slot appear locked forever. The fix shifts the lock bit into the flags half on big-endian 64-bit.
- CVE-2026-90042Unknown
A vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's Ceph filesystem where ceph_fname_to_usr() passed vmalloc() buffers to the fscrypt crypto API, which requires linear memory. This can cause kernel oopses, especially on non-x86 platforms. The fix adds support for vmalloc() buffers using a bounce buffer.
- CVE-2026-90041Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the HID sony driver fails to remove a controller from the device list when HID core input device registration fails. The devres-managed sony_sc is freed while its list node remains linked, leading to use-after-free when the next matching controller is handled.
- CVE-2026-90039Unknown
In the Linux kernel, NFSD admin state-revocation handlers (unlock_filesystem, NFSD_CMD_UNLOCK_FILESYSTEM, NFSD_CMD_UNLOCK_EXPORT) only check nn->nfsd_serv, which is set before nn->conf_id_hashtbl is allocated. This leads to a NULL dereference when the server has not yet started.
- CVE-2026-90038Unknown
In the Linux kernel, nfsd4_revoke_export_states() drops nn->client_lock but the held stateid reference does not pin the client. A concurrent client teardown can free the client while revoke_one_stid() still dereferences it, causing a use-after-free.
- CVE-2026-90037Unknown
In the Linux kernel, an nfs4_openowner left on nn->close_lru holds only a raw pointer to its nfs4_client. When the laundromat reaps entries, drops client_lock and calls nfs4_put_stid(), a concurrent force_expire_client() can free the client, causing a use-after-free.
Original NVD description (English source)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gcov: use atomic counter updates to fix concurrent access crashes GCC's GCOV instrumentation can merge global branch counters with loop induction variables as an optimization. In inflate_fast(), the inner copy loops get transformed so that the GCOV counter value is loaded multiple times to compute the loop base address, start index, and end bound. Since GCOV counters are global (not per-CPU), concurrent execution on different CPUs causes the counter to change between loads, producing inconsistent values and out-of-bounds memory writes. The crash manifests during IPComp (IP Payload Compression) processing when inflate_fast() runs concurrently on multiple CPUs: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffd0a3c0902ffa RIP: inflate_fast+1431 Call Trace: zlib_inflate __deflate_decompress crypto_comp_decompress ipcomp_decompress [xfrm_ipcomp] ipcomp_input [xfrm_ipcomp] xfrm_input At the crash point, the compiler generated three loads from the same global GCOV counter (__gcov0.inflate_fast+216) to compute base, start, and end for an indexed loop. Another CPU modified the counter between loads, making the values inconsistent - the write went 3.4 MB past a 65 KB buffer. Add -fprofile-update=prefer-atomic to CFLAGS_GCOV at the global level in the top-level Makefile, guarded by a try-run compile test. The test compiles a minimal program with and without -fprofile-update=prefer-atomic using the full KBUILD_CFLAGS, then compares undefined symbols in the resulting object files. If prefer-atomic introduces new undefined references (such as __atomic_fetch_add_8 on i386 or __aarch64_ldadd8_relax on arm64 with outline-atomics), the flag is not added -- the kernel does not link against libatomic. On architectures where GCC inlines 64-bit atomic counter updates (x86_64, s390, ...) the test passes and the flag is enabled, preventing the compiler from merging counters with loop induction variables and fixing the observed concurrent-access crash. On architectures where the flag would introduce libatomic dependencies, it is silently omitted and behaviour is no worse than before this patch. Move the CFLAGS_GCOV block from its original position (before the arch Makefile include) to after the core KBUILD_CFLAGS assignments but before the scripts/Makefile.gcc-plugins include. This placement ensures the try-run test sees arch-specific flags (-m32, -march=, -mno-outline-atomics) while avoiding GCC plugin flags (-fplugin=) that would break the test on clean builds when plugin shared objects do not yet exist.