Kernel-memory disclosure via failed PEK CSR copy
Published May 1, 2026 · Updated May 1, 2026
An out-of-bounds read in the SEV driver in Linux Kernel allows local users to disclose kernel memory through the PEK CSR ioctl. In sev_ioctl_do_pek_csr, a firmware failure caused by a short userspace buffer leaves the kernel allocation smaller than the firmware-required length, but copy_to_user still copies that larger length. A low-privilege local user with access to the SEV device can expose adjacent slab data and trigger a kernel memory fault, affecting confidentiality and availability without enabling data modification.
Summary
What happened
An out-of-bounds read in the SEV driver in Linux Kernel allows local users to disclose kernel memory through the PEK CSR ioctl. In sev_ioctl_do_pek_csr, a firmware failure caused by a short userspace buffer leaves the kernel allocation smaller than the firmware-required length, but copy_to_user still copies that larger length. A low-privilege local user with access to the SEV device can expose adjacent slab data and trigger a kernel memory fault, affecting confidentiality and availability without enabling data modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31699
- Published
- May 1, 2026
- Updated
- May 1, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-787, T1005
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 1, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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- Affected versionversion=4.16
- Affected versionversion=e799035609e1526761aa2f896a974b233d04d36d <111dcc6d0f016076745824a787d25609d0022f4c
- Affected versionversion=e799035609e1526761aa2f896a974b233d04d36d <3b4fd8f15765d9a3105b834dba8a05d025e5e16e
- Affected versionversion=e799035609e1526761aa2f896a974b233d04d36d <59e9ae81f8670ccc780bc75f45a355736f640ec9
- Affected versionversion=e799035609e1526761aa2f896a974b233d04d36d <607ba280f2adb5092cf5386c3935afac2ca0031a
- Affected versionversion=e799035609e1526761aa2f896a974b233d04d36d <abe4a6d6f606113251868c2c4a06ba904bb41eed
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
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Your stack
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