VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98545: Linux kernel · ata: libata-scsi: bound the ATA passthru sense descriptor writes

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in d9a7147b93624660626cd7c3b1143715699e1f5c : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

High

Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in d9a7147b93624660626cd7c3b1143715699e1f5c, c698f6deabf680f8f4a1727ef2dc80fe78815fbf, 80320b278fea07ffcda3f57b67b61658e0a4e1ca +4

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=6.6.44 <6.6.158 >=6.10.3 <6.11	Fixed in d9a7147b93624660626cd7c3b1143715699e1f5c c698f6deabf680f8f4a1727ef2dc80fe78815fbf 80320b278fea07ffcda3f57b67b61658e0a4e1ca 1603abb0c50420e97cf4a1feddbd5e183c5fdf86 80fbb0bc4d11683c88f2f9d3997ea02fcada5408 6.11 6.6.158
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.11	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Apply the official Linux kernel patches that fix this issue, available in versions 6.6.158, 6.11, and later. Upgrading to these fixed versions will remediate the vulnerability.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ATA passthru handling could allow a faulty or malicious ATAPI device to cause out-of-bounds reads and writes beyond a 96-byte buffer during error processing of ATA PASS-THROUGH commands. This issue has been fixed in Linux kernel versions 6.6.158, 6.11, and later.

Impact

A malicious or faulty ATAPI device can exploit this vulnerability to cause out-of-bounds memory reads and writes in the kernel, potentially leading to kernel memory corruption or crashes. However, there is no indication of active exploitation in the wild.

Summary

The Linux kernel's libata-scsi subsystem improperly trusts the additional length byte (sb[7]) in the REQUEST SENSE reply from an ATAPI device when an ATA PASS-THROUGH command fails. This leads to three out-of-bounds memory access issues: scsi_sense_desc_find() uses an incorrect buffer length allowing a walk off the end; a type-9 descriptor near the buffer end is overwritten without bounds checking; and a new descriptor write can exceed the buffer by up to 8 bytes. These flaws were demonstrated using KASAN under qemu and have been resolved by bounding the sense descriptor writes in kernel patches.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 10:40 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats