In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm-verity-fec: fix reading...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

dm-verity-fec: fix reading parity bytes split across blocks (take 3)

fec_decode_bufs() assumes that the parity bytes of the first RS codeword
it decodes are never split across parity blocks.

This assumption is false. Consider v->fec->block_size == 4096 &&
v->fec->roots == 17 && fio->nbufs == 1, for example. In that case, each
call to fec_decode_bufs() consumes v->fec->roots * (fio->nbufs <<
DM_VERITY_FEC_BUF_RS_BITS) = 272 parity bytes.

Considering that the parity data for each message block starts on a
block boundary, the byte alignment in the parity data will iterate
through 272*i mod 4096 until the 3 parity blocks have been consumed. On
the 16th call (i=15), the alignment will be 4080 bytes into the first
block. Only 16 bytes remain in that block, but 17 parity bytes will be
needed. The code reads out-of-bounds from the parity block buffer.

Fortunately this doesn't normally happen, since it can occur only for
certain non-default values of fec_roots and when the maximum number of
buffers couldn't be allocated due to low memory. For example with
block_size=4096 only the following cases are affected:

fec_roots=17: nbufs in [1, 3, 5, 15]
fec_roots=19: nbufs in [1, 229]
fec_roots=21: nbufs in [1, 3, 5, 13, 15, 39, 65, 195]
fec_roots=23: nbufs in [1, 89]

Regardless, fix it by refactoring how the parity blocks are read.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-05-28 12:30:30 UTC
Updated
2026-06-24 18:32:33 UTC
NVD published
2026-05-28

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.12% 1.95%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.1 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-125 Out-of-bounds Read

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence