Kernel memory corruption via keyed-discard checksum overflow
Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 18, 2026
A heap buffer overflow in dm-integrity in Linux 7.3-rc1 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through a keyed discard operation. integrity_metadata sizes its checksums buffer by the configured tag size, but integrity_sector_checksum writes the full digest, overrunning the final allocation when the tag is shorter. Reachability requires a dm-integrity device configured for keyed discard with a tag smaller than the digest; the documented HMAC-SHA256 case writes 16 bytes past a kmalloc page.
Summary
What happened
A heap buffer overflow in dm-integrity in Linux 7.3-rc1 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through a keyed discard operation. integrity_metadata sizes its checksums buffer by the configured tag size, but integrity_sector_checksum writes the full digest, overrunning the final allocation when the tag is shorter. Reachability requires a dm-integrity device configured for keyed discard with a tag smaller than the digest; the documented HMAC-SHA256 case writes 16 bytes past a kmalloc page.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-90052
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-122, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 18, 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=5c58ea19a909ef6bed4f0f824e9cd7e30d7e4775 <9988c1c9e0d1c78391e3d8e2817beb667470c76f
- Affected versionversion=6228722c27304e4682cddc1fede03898f87e4414 <dd08a645195f410f2dcaa40de379a45ce110e873
- Affected versionversion=68c5c42567bc462139128968ebbfadd0aefff519 <59e6f919d77d72ec79cbf171256f2f7819737580
- Affected versionversion=7.3-rc1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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