Pre-authentication kernel data disclosure via uninitialized response
Published Sep 4, 2026 · Updated Sep 4, 2026
Information disclosure in the Linux kernel allows remote attackers to read uninitialized slab data during NVMe authentication. nvmet_execute_auth_receive() uses a host-supplied allocation length for a kmalloc() buffer, writes only a fixed-size DH-HMAC-CHAP message, then copies the full allocation to the initiator. Reachability requires an exposed NVMe target with in-band DH-HMAC-CHAP authentication, and each response can disclose nearly one page of residual kernel heap data.
Summary
What happened
Information disclosure in the Linux kernel allows remote attackers to read uninitialized slab data during NVMe authentication. nvmet_execute_auth_receive() uses a host-supplied allocation length for a kmalloc() buffer, writes only a fixed-size DH-HMAC-CHAP message, then copies the full allocation to the initiator. Reachability requires an exposed NVMe target with in-band DH-HMAC-CHAP authentication, and each response can disclose nearly one page of residual kernel heap data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-80791
- Published
- Sep 4, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 4, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 4, 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=6.0
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <1d6837d98bf966a041af65de5f78de7409ff83bc
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <2dcc9226203da7275a9c29d20007da278d73d5e9
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <3ddcfb013322aa37eaa7a0d344b73079c38dfa21
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <447b668faa14710f611e714031e3739ac3ec3a4f
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <8f6363c8d54dde95982f0ab45e77cf57ec0efd62
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <b26189d28442183a8b5edb754f4a6918f77ca84e
- Affected versionversion=db1312dd95488b5e6ff362ff66fcf953a46b1821 <dfcf013f77709ebdb282767edc2795a37cab5b57
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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