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CVE-2026-53176

IB/isert: Reject login PDUs shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN

9.8 EPSS 0.8% AV:N

Published 2026-06-25 (4 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/infiniband. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-53176 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormfixedDLA-4665-1 · 2026-07-03 · text6.1.176-1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4665-1 shipped the fix on 2026-07-03, in 6.1.176-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.94-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.0.13-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.0.13-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.13-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

In drivers/infiniband/ulp/isert/ib_isert.c, isert_login_recv_done() computes the login request payload length as wc->byte_len minus ISER_HEADERS_LEN with no lower bound, and login_req_len is a signed int. A remote iSER initiator can post a login Send work request carrying fewer than ISER_HEADERS_LEN (76) bytes, so the subtraction underflows and login_req_len becomes negative. isert_rx_login_req() then reads that negative length back into a signed int, takes size = min(rx_buflen, MAX_KEY_VALUE_PAIRS), and because the min() is signed it keeps the negative value; the value is then passed as the memcpy() length and sign-extended to a multi-gigabyte size_t. The copy into the 8192-byte login->req_buf runs far out of bounds and faults, crashing the target node. The login phase precedes iSCSI authentication, so no credentials are required to reach this path. Reject any login PDU shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN before the subtraction, mirroring the existing early return on a failed work completion, so login_req_len can never go negative. The upper bound was already safe: a posted login buffer cannot deliver more than ISER_RX_PAYLOAD_SIZE, so the difference stays at or below MAX_KEY_VALUE_PAIRS and the existing min() clamps it; only the missing lower bound needs to be added.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

drivers/infiniband/ulp/isert/ib_isert.c

What this is
ISCSI EXTENSIONS FOR RDMA (ISER) TARGETMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/infiniband/ulp/isert · linux-rdma@vger.kernel.org · Supported
Kernel module
ib_isert

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_INFINIBAND|CONFIG_INFINIBAND_ISERT' /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

lsmod | grep -w ib_isert

Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.

  • bookworm, trixie, forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
M
a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
Build switches
CONFIG_INFINIBAND, CONFIG_INFINIBAND_ISERT
Reads as
all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-06-25 (4 months ago)source
CVSS
9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
network (AV:N)source
EPSS
0.76%, higher than 54.5% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
drivers/infiniband

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
3.105.10.25975ee6e4aa096
3.105.15.210e8a013c0c3ca
3.106.1.176bd22740d7f14
3.106.6.143c1234229399f
3.106.12.94c5584e089b5a
3.106.18.36df422fd273c9
3.107.0.131ca40b243277
3.107.129e7b925ae6d

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DLA-4671-12026-07-05bullseye 6.1.176-1~deb11u1tracker
DLA-4665-12026-07-03bookworm 6.1.176-1tracker
DLA-4664-12026-07-03bullseye 5.10.259-1tracker

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:NAttack vector, network
The vulnerable code is reached by a remote iSER initiator over an RDMA/iSER target portal using RDMA CM and posted Send login PDUs. This is network protocol input to a kernel storage target service.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
The attacker only needs to establish an iSER connection and send a login PDU shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN. No race or condition outside the attacker's control is required.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
The vulnerable memcpy occurs during iSCSI login processing before CHAP/authentication, initiator ACL checks, and normal session authorization complete. No credentials are required.
UI:NUser interaction, none
Exploitation is triggered solely by attacker-sent network/RDMA traffic to the exposed target portal. No victim user action is required.
S:UScope, unchanged
The impact is within the kernel and target host security authority. There is no VM, IOMMU, or other cross-scope boundary involved.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
The signed underflow drives an out-of-bounds kernel memcpy that reads far beyond the receive buffer. As kernel memory corruption with an out-of-bounds read component, high confidentiality impact is the higher defensible choice.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
The same oversized memcpy writes far beyond the 8192-byte login request buffer into adjacent kernel memory. This is an out-of-bounds write and may be exploitable for kernel memory corruption, so integrity impact is high.
A:HAvailability impact, high
The commit and code path show the huge memcpy faults and crashes the iSER target node. A remote unauthenticated attacker can repeatedly trigger kernel oops/panic-level denial of service.