CVE-2026-98155
Received Received - Intake

Out-of-Bounds Read in Linux Kernel QAIC Accelerator Driver

Publication date: 2026-09-25

Last updated on: 2026-09-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: accel/qaic: Address potential out-of-bounds read in resp_worker() Although 'commit 2feec5ae5df7 ("accel/qaic: Handle DBC deactivation if the owner went away")' fixes the scenario it was intended for by walking the message and only decoding QAIC_TRANS_DEACTIVATE_FROM_DEV, if present, it skipped over the bounds checking code that is included in decode_message(). This could lead to issues such as reading past the slab allocation's end, infinite loops or kernel panics. For those issues to happen, a malformed wire message is needed to be sent from the device. Instead of duplicating the bounds checking code already present in decode_message(), use the function inside resp_worker().

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-25
Last Modified
2026-09-25
Generated
2026-09-25
AI Q&A
2026-09-25
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-98155
EUVD
EUVD-2026-86986

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 accel/qaic component. It involves a potential out-of-bounds read in the resp_worker() function. A previous fix addressed a specific scenario but missed adding bounds checking when decoding messages. This could allow reading past allocated memory, causing kernel panics or infinite loops if a malformed message is sent from a device.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability requires a malformed wire message from a device to trigger. Detection would involve monitoring for kernel panics, infinite loops, or out-of-bounds read errors in the accel/qaic subsystem. Check kernel logs for QAIC-related errors or crashes.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability could lead to system instability such as crashes or hangs. An attacker with access to send malformed messages to the device could trigger kernel panics or infinite loops, potentially causing denial-of-service conditions on affected systems.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the Linux kernel patch that resolves this issue. Update to a kernel version containing commit 2feec5ae5df7 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the QAIC device to trusted sources to prevent malformed messages.

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