CVE-2026-63996

ethtool: cmis: require exact CDB reply length

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: July 19, 2026 at 02:56 PM UTC
Updated: October 19, 2026 at 09:17 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: cmis: require exact CDB reply length Malicious SFP module could respond with rpl_len longer than what cmis_cdb_process_reply() expected, leading to OOB writes. Malicious HW is a bit theoretical but some modules may just be buggy and/or the reads may occasionally get corrupted, so let's protect the kernel. The existing check protects from short replies. We need to protect from long ones, too. All callers that pass a non-zero rpl_exp_len cast the reply payload to a fixed-layout struct and read fields at fixed offsets, with no version negotiation or short-reply handling: - cmis_cdb_validate_password() - cmis_cdb_module_features_get() - cmis_fw_update_fw_mng_features_get() so let's assume that responses longer than expected do not have to be handled gracefully here. Add a warning message to make the debug easier in case my understanding is wrong... Note that page_data->length (argument of kmalloc) comes from last arg to ethtool_cmis_page_init() which is rpl_exp_len. Note2 that AIs also like to point out overflows in args->req.payload itself (which is a fixed-size 120 B buffer, on the stack), but callers should be reading structs defined by the standard, so protecting from requests for more data than max seem like defensive programming.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

6.11 ≤ v < 6.12.936.13 ≤ v < 6.18.356.19 ≤ v < 7.0.127.17.1 rc17.1 rc27.1 rc37.1 rc47.1 rc5a39c84d796254e6b1662ca0c46dbc313379e9291
Vendor states this is fixed in 2f818cc98fd2c63a08239cb48995f6c3bfe9d9b3 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4d42fb88ec61f2e98c33a9e3a2de371d5edbc6b1 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6c3f999a9d1338c6c89a9ff4549eafe72bc2e7b1 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in eb5dcd740cd7fa27bc2caeff2d28ef28e93ff4d3 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.11 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.93 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.35 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.0.12 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1 (unaffected)

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-787

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