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CVE-2026-81017
platform/chrome: sensorhub: Bound the EC-reported sensor number
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/platform. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-81017 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-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
Each EC FIFO event carries an 8-bit sensor number (in->sensor_num). cros_ec_sensorhub_ring_handler() validates the FIFO event count, the per-read count and the ring bound, but not the sensor number, which cros_ec_sensor_ring_process_event() then uses unchecked to index sensorhub->batch_state[] - allocated with only sensorhub->sensor_num entries. A sensor number of sensor_num or larger is an out-of-bounds read and write of batch_state[]. Validate the sensor number in the ring handler, where each event is read from the EC, and drop a malformed event before it is used.
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/platform/chrome/cros_ec_sensorhub_ring.c
- What this is
- CHROME HARDWARE PLATFORM SUPPORTMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/platform/chrome/ · chrome-platform@lists.linux.dev · Maintained
- Kernel module
- cros_ec_sensorhub
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_CHROME_PLATFORMS|CONFIG_CROS_EC_SENSORHUB' /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 cros_ec_sensorhubPrints 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/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
- bookworm · linux-6.12Mnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armhf/armmp, armhf/armmp-lpae, armhf/rt/armmp, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_CHROME_PLATFORMS, CONFIG_CROS_EC_SENSORHUB
- 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
- 2026-09-11 (37 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 8.4 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.18%, higher than 7.6% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/platform
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | 5.10.270 | 3a76b87e1d06 |
| 5.7 | 5.15.221 | 2b602ecf6193 |
| 5.7 | 6.1.188 | 324880f94ba3 |
| 5.7 | 6.6.157 | d1b4add68dab |
| 5.7 | 6.12.109 | 3d2636dce0a8 |
| 5.7 | 6.18.50 | 5eaf7faa9957 |
| 5.7 | 7.2.4 | 4d9bf63ed74f |
| 5.7 | 7.3 | 833740a2333c |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | 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:LAttack vector, local
- The OOB is reached from the Chrome EC MKBP IRQ path (cros_ec_irq_thread → event_notifier → cros_ec_sensorhub_event → cros_ec_sensorhub_ring_handler) on an internally connected LPC/SPI/I2C/ISH coprocessor, not from network packets or a pluggable USB device.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- A malicious or compromised EC fully controls each FIFO event’s sensor_num, flags, and timestamp from MOTIONSENSE_CMD_FIFO_READ. A non-timestamp event with sensor_num >= sensorhub->sensor_num deterministically indexes batch_state[] out of bounds with no race.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- The FIFO handler runs from the EC IRQ notifier with no Linux capability or credential check, and interrupts are armed at probe via cros_ec_sensorhub_ring_fifo_enable(). Compromised EC firmware can deliver EC_MKBP_EVENT_SENSOR_FIFO events without a host account.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Sensor FIFO collection is enabled automatically at driver probe and proceeds on EC interrupts; no victim must open a device, mount a filesystem, or otherwise interact.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The corruption is kernel heap in the same host OS that runs the sensorhub driver. This is ordinary kernel memory corruption, not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or other changed-scope boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Attacker-controlled 8-bit sensor_num indexes batch_state[] (allocated only for sensorhub->sensor_num entries), enabling an out-of-bounds read of adjacent heap via newest_sensor_event/last_ts. Unbounded OOB reads score Confidentiality High.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- ODR, FLUSH, and sample processing write last_len, penul_len, and newest_sensor_event at the attacker-chosen index, yielding a heap out-of-bounds write that can corrupt neighboring objects and hijack kernel control flow.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Out-of-bounds heap access of batch_state[] can oops or panic the kernel when it hits unmapped or poisoned memory, so Availability is High.