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CVE-2026-68155
libceph: Reject monmaps advertising zero monitors
Published 2026-08-10 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/ceph. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68155 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 | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.101-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.101-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4745-1 · 2026-08-18 · text | 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4745-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-18, in 6.12.101-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
A message of type CEPH_MSG_MON_MAP contains a monmap that is sent from a monitor to the client. This monmap contains information about the existing monitors in the cluster. Currently, a monmap indicating that there are zero monitors in the cluster is treated as valid. However, it is impossible to have zero monitors in the cluster and still receive a valid monmap from a monitor. Therefore, such a monmap must be corrupted and should be treated as invalid. Furthermore, a monmap with a monitor count of zero can subsequently crash the client when attempting to open a session with a monitor in __open_session(). This happens because the "BUG_ON(monc->monmap->num_mon < 1)" assertion in pick_new_mon() is triggered. This patch extends a check in ceph_monmap_decode() to also reject arriving mon_maps with num_mon == 0 rather than only with num_mon > CEPH_MAX_MON. [ idryomov: drop "log output for unusual values of num_mon" part ]
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.
net/ceph/mon_client.c
- What this is
- CEPH COMMON CODE (LIBCEPH)MAINTAINERS section matched on net/ceph/ · ceph-devel@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- libceph
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_CEPH_LIB /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 libcephPrints 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 as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switch
- CONFIG_CEPH_LIB
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
- 2026-08-10 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.70%, higher than 52.1% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/ceph
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 2.6.34 | 5.10.271 | ba5f0015bfd3 |
| 2.6.34 | 5.15.216 | caf082ef8609 |
| 2.6.34 | 6.1.183 | e3ccd4ecab09 |
| 2.6.34 | 6.6.148 | 0591a15815b4 |
| 2.6.34 | 6.12.101 | cd0d41bc5696 |
| 2.6.34 | 6.18.42 | e67e8b694872 |
| 2.6.34 | 7.1.6 | 3b249546f59c |
| 2.6.34 | 7.2 | 40480eee361e |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4745-1 | 2026-08-18 | bookworm 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
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 bug is reached when libceph decodes CEPH_MSG_MON_MAP from a remote Ceph monitor over the kernel client's established TCP/msgr2 session (mon_dispatch -> ceph_monc_handle_map -> ceph_monmap_decode), which is a network protocol attack surface on CephFS/RBD/cloud nodes.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker who can send monitor protocol messages only needs to set num_mon=0 in the monmap; once accepted, any later session reopen (keepalive timeout, hunt, or connection fault) deterministically hits BUG_ON in pick_new_mon without races or special memory layout.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- In the highest-impact scenario a malicious or compromised Ceph monitor (or equivalent authenticated cluster peer) sends the malformed monmap to already-connected kernel clients; the attacker needs no local privileges on the victim host.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- After a Ceph client session exists, monmap updates are delivered and processed automatically by the kernel monitor client; no further mount, open, or other victim interaction is required to accept the bad map and later crash on reconnect.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Exploitation causes a kernel BUG/panic within the same kernel security domain and does not cross VM, container, IOMMU, or other security boundaries.
- C:NConfidentiality impact, none
- The failure mode is a BUG_ON assertion in pick_new_mon when num_mon is zero; there is no memory corruption, out-of-bounds access, or other information disclosure primitive on the vulnerable path.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- Accepting num_mon==0 only stores an empty monmap and later triggers a deliberate kernel BUG; attacker input does not corrupt or modify arbitrary kernel memory or enable code execution.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- BUG_ON(monc->monmap->num_mon < 1) in pick_new_mon during __open_session causes a kernel oops/panic, fully denying availability of the affected host until reboot.