CVE-2026-97906

bootconfig: Fix integer overflow in initrd size check

N/A
Published: September 25, 2026 at 10:22 AM UTC
Updated: October 21, 2026 at 01:21 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
N/A
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bootconfig: Fix integer overflow in initrd size check Sashiko reported that in get_boot_config_from_initrd(), a crafted initrd with a huge bootconfig size (such as 0xFFFFFFFF) can cause the pointer arithmetic: data = ((void *)hdr) - size; to wrap around on 32-bit systems (or when pointer subtraction overflows). Because data wraps around, the subsequent bounds check: if ((unsigned long)data < initrd_start) evaluates to false, bypassing the check. The kernel then calls xbc_calc_checksum(data, size), which attempts to read 4GB of memory, hitting unmapped pages and triggering a fatal kernel page fault during early boot. Furthermore, on 64-bit systems with an initrd > 4.29 GB, an unbounded 32-bit size can similarly bypass the initrd_start check. Fix this by: 1. Ensuring the initrd is at least large enough to contain the bootconfig footer and verifying hdr is within the initrd bounds. 2. Checking that size does not exceed XBC_DATA_MAX and does not exceed the available space between initrd_start and hdr before performing pointer subtraction.

Affected

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

32394df25d8e46935b442b429d74b37885c4f0925.6.145.7de462e5f10718517bacf2f84c8aa2804567ef7df
Vendor states this is fixed in 4d45bc0f8cdf606d5409b5f64a8a6609f6520c03 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7812d6dab0698001e50e8c2f901e17da3eb6f429 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 8d4343a411eaa182d323ab5b149496416015f27d (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in bff9a1579e2c9b2a59fdf3793becc9d7bf5ff1a6 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.7 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.112 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.53 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.160 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.2.7 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.3 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.3-rc3 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

Quick Info

StatusRECEIVED

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