Kernel denial of service via unchecked watcher count
Published Aug 26, 2026 · Updated Aug 27, 2026
Out-of-bounds read in Linux kernel 4.9 through 7.1.9 allows remote attackers controlling a Ceph OSD to crash or stall kernel clients. In decode_watchers(), ceph_start_decoding() accepts a zero-length structure, then ceph_decode_32() reads four bytes beyond the validated reply and passes the value to kzalloc_objs() as the watcher count. Reachability requires a malicious or compromised OSD session and a kernel client operation that lists watchers; consequences include kernel memory corruption, a crash, OOM, or an RBD worker stall.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds read in Linux kernel 4.9 through 7.1.9 allows remote attackers controlling a Ceph OSD to crash or stall kernel clients. In decode_watchers(), ceph_start_decoding() accepts a zero-length structure, then ceph_decode_32() reads four bytes beyond the validated reply and passes the value to kzalloc_objs() as the watcher count. Reachability requires a malicious or compromised OSD session and a kernel client operation that lists watchers; consequences include kernel memory corruption, a crash, OOM, or an RBD worker stall.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-80557
- Published
- Aug 26, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-125, T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 26, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 27, 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=4.9
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <00ead17c7de137a692edee59f2772e6af687e8eb
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <1c824e7c75bb4adf19553dd4ea944a5d83096be8
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <7130d94846dadbb97b6b7f4d78a3a7bba6e3daa1
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <85479b7d65b4ebcb07fbbe57230976793974ab4a
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <c59219a6b62d74936963983e5815524c3de8dd79
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <cb8246e5846dbbe34930903a90c7a90dd8e5910b
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <eab3eeb68bfc639d74f27256f05546af5c4f787d
- Affected versionversion=a4ed38d7a180f184a6e7aedd09db9ca4b1e6a71c <f161be39201eb5f9b1f58fb8f90b8a9cd3931eb6
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
Your stack
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Your stack
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