Kernel panic via unchecked AHCI port count
Published Sep 24, 2026 · Updated Sep 24, 2026
Out-of-bounds MMIO access in the Linux AHCI driver allows affected systems to panic during controller probe after boot. ahci_init_one() trusts HOST_CAP.NP to derive the port count and later reaches per-port registers beyond the mapped PCI BAR when the claimed layout is too large. The failure requires an AHCI controller that remains visible while disabled or misconfigured in firmware; the bounded consequence is a kernel panic during probe.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds MMIO access in the Linux AHCI driver allows affected systems to panic during controller probe after boot. ahci_init_one() trusts HOST_CAP.NP to derive the port count and later reaches per-port registers beyond the mapped PCI BAR when the claimed layout is too large. The failure requires an AHCI controller that remains visible while disabled or misconfigured in firmware; the bounded consequence is a kernel panic during probe.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97441
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 24, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 24, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.12.111
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.18.53
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c4086c6e1af757e1ff26fa2d2926b3ec0195de79
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <df262c828b616450eb351349e91c63447551bd01
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <f2e291043c37a896d7f9797e25a356dceb030177
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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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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