CVE-2026-53176
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) Extensions for Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) (iSER) module. A remote attacker can send a specially crafted login request with a payload shorter than expected, leading to an integer underflow. This underflow causes a negative length to be used in a memory copy operation, resulting in an out-of-bounds write that crashes the system. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
An out-of-bounds memcpy in the iSER target login path can occur because isert_login_recv_done subtracts ISER_HEADERS_LEN from wc byte_len without first checking that the received login PDU is at least that large. A remote iSER initiator can send a login Send work request shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN before iSCSI authentication, making login_req_len negative and later sign extending it into a very large memcpy length into an 8192-byte login buffer. The issue is network reachable on the RDMA or storage fabric, but AV:A is used because iSER deployments are normally limited to adjacent storage or data center networks rather than the public Internet. Impact is denial of service via target kernel crash.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, prevent module ib_isert from being loaded. Please see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for how to blacklist a kernel module to prevent it from loading automatically.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 6.5 | N/A | 6.5 |
| Attack Vector | Adjacent Network | N/A | Adjacent Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | None | N/A | None |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | None |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Modify Application Data; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
An attacker could modify the structure of the message or data being sent to the downstream component, possibly injecting commands.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
in some contexts, a negative value could lead to resource consumption.
Confidentiality,Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory; Read Memory
If a negative value is used to access memory, buffers, or other indexable structures, it could access memory outside the bounds of the buffer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
