Kernel disclosure and NIC disruption via EEPROM fallback
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
Out-of-bounds reads in the Linux Kernel ethtool subsystem allow local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN to expose kernel or device data via Netlink. fallback_set_params() checks the starting EEPROM offset but not whether offset plus length exceeds eeprom_len, while eeprom_fallback() returns a kmalloc() buffer without first zeroing it. The path requires a network device using the legacy EEPROM fallback and CAP_NET_ADMIN, which unprivileged user namespaces can provide; crafted reads can disclose data or trigger NIC hangs, resets, or link loss.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds reads in the Linux Kernel ethtool subsystem allow local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN to expose kernel or device data via Netlink. fallback_set_params() checks the starting EEPROM offset but not whether offset plus length exceeds eeprom_len, while eeprom_fallback() returns a kmalloc() buffer without first zeroing it. The path requires a network device using the legacy EEPROM fallback and CAP_NET_ADMIN, which unprivileged user namespaces can provide; crafted reads can disclose data or trigger NIC hangs, resets, or link loss.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63985
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1005
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=5.13
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <0e182689831277faf2ef683573a60474c208f690
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <4fe1bc4b3603f621240d5b401742f302190db769
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <65674d2489a12b8efd2ca0effb3de1d12224b596
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <67cfdd9210b99f260b3e0afeb9525e0acc7be31e
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <6ed7ebe22e9c3e3e946b6973c1ce43d3c38aeac1
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <d81376053a00865c70b8d8506a1cb93f2943d413
- Affected versionversion=96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2 <fd0de51c54fa8474a0ddeedd71c65ad09fada390
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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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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