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CVE-2026-64221
spi: ti-qspi: fix use-after-free after DMA setup failure
Published 2026-07-24 (3 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/spi. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-64221 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
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.176-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.176-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.94-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.94-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.0.12-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.12-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.0.12-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.0.12-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
The driver falls back to PIO mode if DMA setup fails during probe. Make sure to clear the DMA channel pointer also if buffer allocation fails to avoid passing a pointer to the released channel to the DMA engine (or trying to free the channel a second time on late probe errors or driver unbind). This issue was flagged by Sashiko when reviewing a devres allocation conversion patch.
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/spi/spi-ti-qspi.c
- What this is
- SPI SUBSYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/spi/ · linux-spi@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- spi_ti_qspi
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SPI|CONFIG_SPI_TI_QSPI' /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 spi_ti_qspiPrints 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.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, i386/686, i386/686-pae, i386/rt/686-pae, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt/arm64, armel/rpi, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt-amd64, arm64/arm64, arm64/arm64-16k, arm64/cloud-arm64, arm64/rt-arm64, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SPI, CONFIG_SPI_TI_QSPI
- 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
- 2026-07-24 (3 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.13%, higher than 2.1% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/spi
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.12 | 5.10.258 | 9c6f306a8140 |
| 4.12 | 5.15.209 | 3bbbe7ae3fda |
| 4.12 | 6.1.175 | d6f422b12292 |
| 4.12 | 6.6.142 | f2dc841d7dc9 |
| 4.12 | 6.12.92 | 1cd927002120 |
| 4.12 | 6.18.34 | d7a076fb596c |
| 4.12 | 7.0.11 | 178b9b570c0f |
| 4.12 | 7.1 | ea6ec3343e05 |
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:LAttack vector, local
- The vulnerable path is reachable through local SPI-memory reads, including read(2) on an accessible file in a TI QSPI-backed JFFS2 or UBIFS filesystem.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- Once memory pressure causes the coherent-buffer allocation failure, ordinary flash reads deterministically reuse the released channel without requiring a race or uncontrollable heap layout.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- An ordinary unprivileged user can trigger flash I/O by reading a permitted file on a mounted QSPI-backed filesystem, with no capability check in the read path.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker directly initiates the read and requires no action from another user.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The resulting kernel and DMA corruption remains within the host kernel's security authority and does not inherently cross a VM or IOMMU boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Reuse of the released DMA channel can transfer data from unintended physical addresses into kernel buffers, enabling serious kernel-memory disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Stale DMA submissions or a second channel release can corrupt DMA state, interfere with a reassigned client, and plausibly provide memory-corruption or code-execution primitives.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Reusing or releasing the stale channel can cause an oops, panic, DMA timeout, or loss of access to a critical flash-backed filesystem.