CVE-2026-68449

Received Received - Intake

ata: sata_dwc_460ex infinite loop in NCQ tag completion

Publication date: 2026-08-12

Last updated on: 2026-08-19

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ata: sata_dwc_460ex: fix infinite loop in NCQ tag completion bit-scanning The hand-rolled bit-scanning loop in the NCQ completion path has an infinite loop bug. When tag_mask has only high bits set (e.g. 0x80000000), the inner while loop left-shifts tag_mask until it overflows to 0. At that point !(0 & 1) is always true and 0 <<= 1 stays 0, causing an infinite loop in hardirq context with a spinlock held. Replace the open-coded bit-scanning with __ffs() which correctly finds the least significant set bit and is bounded by the width of the argument.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-12

Last Modified

2026-08-19

Generated

2026-09-01

AI Q&A

2026-08-12

EPSS Evaluated

2026-08-31

NVD

CVE-2026-68449

EUVD

EUVD-2026-57055

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in the Linux kernel's sata_dwc_460ex driver. It involves an infinite loop bug in the NCQ (Native Command Queuing) tag completion path. When certain bit patterns are set in tag_mask, the loop fails to terminate, causing a system hang in hardirq context while holding a spinlock.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's sata_dwc_460ex driver and requires kernel-level access to detect. Check if your system uses the affected driver by running: lsmod | grep sata_dwc_460ex. If loaded, monitor for system hangs during disk I/O operations, particularly with NCQ-enabled drives.

Impact Analysis

This could cause system hangs or crashes, especially during disk I/O operations. The infinite loop occurs in kernel hardirq context, potentially leading to unresponsive systems or data corruption if storage operations are interrupted.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability is a low-level kernel issue in the Linux SATA driver that could cause system hangs due to an infinite loop in hardirq context. It does not directly impact data confidentiality, integrity, or availability in a way that would typically affect GDPR or HIPAA compliance.

Mitigation Strategies

Update your Linux kernel to a patched version that includes the fix for CVE-2026-68449. If using a distribution kernel, apply vendor security updates immediately. As a temporary workaround, disable NCQ for SATA drives by adding libata.force=noncq to kernel boot parameters.

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