ima: fix out-of-bounds read in xattr_verify()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ima: fix out-of-bounds read in xattr_verify() The digest-length check in xattr_verify() mixes int and size_t: if (xattr_len - sizeof(xattr_value->type) - hash_start >= iint->ima_hash->length) sizeof() yields size_t, so the usual arithmetic conversions promote the whole left-hand side to unsigned 64-bit before the subtraction runs. For a truncated xattr this underflows instead of going negative: a 1-byte IMA_XATTR_DIGEST_NG xattr (xattr_len == 1, hash_start == 1) turns "1 - 1 - 1" into SIZE_MAX, which is trivially >= ima_hash->length. The check then passes and the following memcmp() reads iint->ima_hash->length bytes starting past the end of the buffer vfs_getxattr_alloc() allocated for it. Nothing upstream clamps xattr_len back into a safe range first: ima_get_hash_algo() only special-cases xattr_len < 2 to pick a default algorithm, and evm_verifyxattr() returns INTEGRITY_UNKNOWN rather than failing when no HMAC key is loaded, so a truncated security.ima value reaches the length check as-is. Rewrite the comparison so every operand stays a signed int and no implicit conversion to size_t can occur.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- 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-2026-74671
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g8m3-q9h2-qp8g
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d823b5f4557083d1dd92096f796a78a2b1b06d10
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/caeb105c15ea2431fa8da7ecfa242d0c68272426
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a784b4732ac7e51862b9b210c2d8b2ab9e83568c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6cb134707a2127d90a58d69dd818679cae8033c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e515b6c9aab452a4f0734bd7208e4e780e164ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27f3924061592d0ef6b04e16f48754b6cb6adf27
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd04114af0d451091f7b8cbd26d9e37d011e9131
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ff232d31106f45ac87c3b64e1d35a0667777797
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74671 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74671 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-g8m3-q9h2-qp8g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74671 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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