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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2026-63985: Linux kernel · ethtool: eeprom: add more safeties to EEPROM Netlink fallback

Source GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-63985· High 7.8

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in fd0de51c54fa8474a0ddeedd71c65ad09fada390 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 2% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in fd0de51c54fa8474a0ddeedd71c65ad09fada390, d81376053a00865c70b8d8506a1cb93f2943d413, 65674d2489a12b8efd2ca0effb3de1d12224b596 +4
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 19 Jul 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < fd0de51c54fa8474a0ddeedd71c65ad09fada390
Fixed in
  • fd0de51c54fa8474a0ddeedd71c65ad09fada390
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < d81376053a00865c70b8d8506a1cb93f2943d413
Fixed in
  • d81376053a00865c70b8d8506a1cb93f2943d413
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < 65674d2489a12b8efd2ca0effb3de1d12224b596
Fixed in
  • 65674d2489a12b8efd2ca0effb3de1d12224b596
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < 67cfdd9210b99f260b3e0afeb9525e0acc7be31e
Fixed in
  • 67cfdd9210b99f260b3e0afeb9525e0acc7be31e
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < 6ed7ebe22e9c3e3e946b6973c1ce43d3c38aeac1
Fixed in
  • 6ed7ebe22e9c3e3e946b6973c1ce43d3c38aeac1
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ 96d971e307cc0e434f96329b42bbd98cfbca07d2, < 4fe1bc4b3603f621240d5b401742f302190db769
Fixed in
  • 4fe1bc4b3603f621240d5b401742f302190db769

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to add the missing offset plus length validation in the EEPROM Netlink fallback path and to zero-initialize buffers properly. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes this fix. Since this is a kernel vulnerability, applying the official kernel update from the vendor or distribution is the recommended remediation. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed here; check the vendor advisory or Linux kernel release notes for the exact fixed version.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethtool: eeprom: add more safeties to EEPROM Netlink fallback The Netlink fallback path for reading module EEPROM (fallback_set_params()) validates that offset < eeprom_len, but does not check that offset + length stays within eeprom_len. The ioctl equivalent (ethtool_get_any_eeprom() in ioctl.c) has always enforced both bounds: if (eeprom.offset + eeprom.len > total_len) return -EINVAL; This could lead to surprises in both drivers and device FW. Add the missing offset + length validation to fallback_set_params(), mirroring the ioctl. Similarly - ethtool core in general, and ethtool_get_any_eeprom() in particular tries to zero-init all buffers passed to the drivers to avoid any extra work of zeroing things out. eeprom_fallback() uses a plain kmalloc(), change it to zalloc.

References

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