fbdev: bitblit: bound-check glyph index in bit_cursor()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: bitblit: bound-check glyph index in bit_cursor() bit_cursor() fetches the glyph under the cursor with c = scr_readw(vc_pos); src = vc_font.data + ((c & charmask) * w * height); where charmask is 0x1ff when vc_hi_font_mask is set. The screen buffer value comes directly from scr_readw() and may be larger than the current font's glyph count. Syzkaller triggers this via vcs_write(). The Call Trace shows vcs_write() in vc_screen.c writing an arbitrary 16-bit value with writev() to /dev/vcsa, which vcs_write_buf() in vc_screen.c stores via vcs_scr_writew() without checking charcount. The stored value is later read in bit_cursor() in bitblit.c. When the font is changed from a font with 512 glyphs to a font with 256 glyphs, the screen buffer can retain characters with the high bit set from the previous mode, which could also produce the same out-of-bounds access. BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in soft_cursor+0x378/0x6bc drivers/video/fbdev/core/softcursor.c:70 Read of size 16 at addr ffff800086c57970 Call Trace: soft_cursor+0x378/0x6bc drivers/video/fbdev/core/softcursor.c:70 bit_cursor+0xa90/0x1108 drivers/video/fbdev/core/bitblit.c:365 fbcon_cursor+0x344/0x498 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c:1427 hide_cursor+0xdc/0x2d0 drivers/tty/vt/vt.c:883 update_region+0x100/0x18c drivers/tty/vt/vt.c:669 vcs_write+0x8ec/0xaf0 drivers/tty/vt/vc_screen.c:685 bit_putcs_aligned() and bit_putcs_unaligned() already clamp the glyph index to vc_font.charcount. Apply the same clamp in bit_cursor() after extracting the attribute and masking, before indexing fontdata. The fix completes the bounds checking started in commit 18c4ef4e765a ("fbdev: bitblit: bound-check glyph index in bit_putcs*"), which missed the cursor path. This change should be safe because the clamp reuses the existing contract from fbcon: charcount is maintained under console_lock in con_font_set() and fbcon_font_set(), and hi_font_mask is cleared when switching from 512 to 256 glyphs. When stale screen data with high bits remains after a font switch, or when vcs_write() stores an arbitrary value, clamping the index to 0 prevents the out-of-bounds read without changing cursor semantics — the same fallback bit_putcs uses.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.10.247 to before 5.10.265; 5.15.197 to before 5.15.216; 6.1.159 to before 6.1.183; 6.6.117 to before 6.6.152; 6.12.58 to before 6.12.104; 5.4.302 to before 5.5; 6.17.8 to before 6.18 | 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 5.5, 6.18 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.18 and later | 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10.247 to before 5.10.265; 5.15.197 to before 5.15.216; 6.1.159 to before 6.1.183; 6.6.117 to before 6.6.152; 6.12.58 to before 6.12.104; 5.4.302 to before 5.5; 6.17.8 to before 6.18 Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 5.5, 6.18 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.18 and later Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 5.5, 6.18
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74635
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-gcm2-cr9p-5jc7
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/250159ace2dc53c1bdad267aa8da51b638748700
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46336f476484f36145e5117e72d7b590f47433ee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf750cfeacf4e47ac72dadc7f05839696efb8576
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94134d70abf9273b70499d97d0adc9185ef21091
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1e7351767dd30fc574395c82121e4c67b882da3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bc9db0d879c655d5dfd8add32fd60f13e65d132c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ea879862e66e354e616028c31b39aa3eb6d35d8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e033cbf3975a8465f879ebd5989dc35b04423a4d
More Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-74635 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74635 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-gcm2-cr9p-5jc7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74635 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences