CVE-2026-80836
Received Received - Intake

Virtio Crypto AKCipher Out-of-Bounds Read in Linux Kernel

Publication date: 2026-09-04

Last updated on: 2026-09-04

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: crypto: virtio - bound the akcipher result length virtio_crypto_dataq_akcipher_callback() sets the result length from the device-reported response length without bounding it to the destination buffer, which was allocated for the original request length. sg_copy_from_buffer() then reads that many bytes from the destination buffer; a backend reporting a larger length over-reads adjacent kernel heap into the caller's scatterlist (an out-of-bounds read). Clamp the reported length to the originally requested destination length. A conforming device reports no more than that, so valid results are unaffected.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-04
Last Modified
2026-09-04
Generated
2026-09-04
AI Q&A
2026-09-04
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-80836
EUVD
EUVD-2026-71286

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

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Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in the Linux kernel's crypto subsystem, specifically in the virtio cryptography driver. It involves an out-of-bounds read where a device-reported response length is not properly bounded to the destination buffer size. This allows reading adjacent kernel heap memory into the caller's scatterlist.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's crypto subsystem and requires kernel-level inspection. Detection involves checking kernel logs for related errors or examining the kernel version for affected builds. Use uname -a to check your kernel version and dmesg | grep virtio for potential error messages.

Impact Analysis

An attacker with access to a vulnerable system could exploit this to read sensitive kernel memory, potentially exposing confidential data or causing system instability. This could lead to privilege escalation or denial-of-service attacks.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability could lead to unauthorized data exposure, violating confidentiality requirements in GDPR and HIPAA. Organizations must patch systems to maintain compliance with data protection regulations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update your Linux kernel to the latest stable version provided by your distribution to ensure the fix is applied. If immediate updates are not possible, restrict access to untrusted users or devices that could exploit this via virtio-crypto interfaces until patched.

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